Going, K(elly) L.

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GOING, K(elly) L.

Personal

Female. Education: Graduated from college. Hobbies and other interests: Music, reading, travel.

Addresses

Home— Beacon, NY. Agent— c/o Author Mail, G. P. Putnam, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014. E-mail— [email protected].

Career

Writer. Has worked variously as an adult literacy tutor, airline ticket agent, resort hotel desk clerk, and assistant to a literary agent; Merritt Bookstore, Cold Spring, NY, part-time clerk.

Awards, Honors

Michael L. Printz Honor, American Library Association, 2004, for Fat Kid Rules the World.

Writings

Fat Kid Rules the World, Putnam (New York, NY), 2003.

The Liberation of Gabriel King, Putnam (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor of short fiction to periodicals, including Rush Hour.

Sidelights

Author K. L. Going made her writing debut, and also earned the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award, with Fat Kid Rules the World, the story of a dejected 6' 1″, 300-pound Watson High School senior named Troy Billings. Through the development of a rather unlikely friendship with local rock musician Curt MacCrae, Troy becomes a drummer in his new friend's band, and begins to deal with his depression, while simultaneously working through numerous other personal issues as well. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly called the debut novel "savvy and fast-paced," while Ilene Cooper commented in Booklist that while Going's "narrative could have been tighter in places, Fat Kid Rules the World "is an impressive debut that offers hope for all kids." Renee Steinberg stated in a School Library Journal review that because the novel contains "many unexpected twists and turns," readers "will love [Going's] … wonderful, engrossing tale."

Going makes her home in New York state, where she lives with two cats and works part time in a nearby bookstore. Her second novel, this time for middle-grade readers, is titled The Liberation of Gabriel King and was published in 2005. On her Web site, Going explained that her fiction is based on the feelings she experienced while growing up. "I've always been small and thin (4'11 and 3/4"!), but I've spent a vast amount of my life feeling like the 'fat kid'—namely, self-conscious. I try to tap into the extreme ends of the emotional spectrum. I'm not as interested in the stable feelings in the middle. I take the best and worst feelings and try to make those emotions come alive through my characters."