S.E. Hinton, was and still is, one of the most popular and best known writers
of young adult fiction. Her books have been taught in some schools, and
banned from others. Her novels changed the way people look at young adult
literature.
Susan Eloise Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has always enjoyed
reading but wasn't satisfied with the literature that was being written for young
adults, which influenced her to write novels like The Outsiders. That book, her first
novel, was published in 1967 by Viking.
Once published, The Outsiders gave her a lot of publicity and fame, and also a lot
of pressure. S.E. Hinton was becoming known as "The Voice of the Youth" among
other titles. This kind of pressure and publicity resulted in a three year long writer's
block.
Her boyfriend (and now, her husband),who had gotten sick of her being depressed
all the time, eventually broke this block. He made her write two pages a day if she
wanted to go anywhere. This eventually led to That Was Then, This Is Now. That
Was Then, This Is Now is known to be a much more well thought out book than
The Outsiders. Because she read a lot of great literature and wanted to better
herself, she made sure that she wrote each sentence exactly right. She continued to
write her two pages a day until she finally felt it was finished in the summer of
1970, she got married a few months later. That Was Then, This is Now was
published in 1971.
In 1975, S.E. Hinton published Rumble Fish as a novel (she had published a short
story version in a 1968 edition of Nimrod, which was a literary supplement for the
University of Tulsa Alumni Magazine).
Rumble Fish was the shortest novel she had published. It received a great deal of
contrasting opinions, with one reviewer claiming it to be her best book and the next
claiming it to be her last.
The latter was apparently wrong. Tex was published in 1979, four years after
Rumble Fish. It received great reviews and people raved about how the writing
style had matured since previous publications. Tex would be the last book S.E.
Hinton published for nine years. After another span of four years, S.E. Hinton's
son, Nick was born. Four years after Tex was released, quite a few major events
took place in S.E. Hinton's life. In March of 1983, the movie The Outsiders was
released. The following August, Nicholas David was born. Two months later the
movie Rumble Fish was released.
In 1985 the movie version of That Was Then, This Is Now was released. Three
years later S.E. Hinton became the first person to receive the YASD/SLJ Author
Achievement Award, which was given by the Young Adult Services Division of
the American Library Association and School Library Journal.
Taming The Star Runner was released in October of that year. It was the first book
that S.E. Hinton had published that wasn't in first person. With a seven-year wait,
S.E. Hinton released another book in 1995. This time she did something that no
one expected.
Big David, Little David was written for children around the kindergarten age. This
deviation from Teen fiction seems to be a reflection of the current important things
in S.E. Hinton's life: Family. The children's fiction trend continues with her latest
release- The Puppy Sister, which is a fantasy book written for Elementary school
level children.
S.E. Hinton currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband David. Her
son Nick is away for college.
About the Bio
I'm a very private person, and I'm very uncomfortable talking about my personal
life, but a few facts:
My hobby is horse-back riding; I've shown both jumping and dressage.
I read constantly, and occasionally take a class at the university not for credit - it's
more fun when you don't have to take the tests!
A writer's life is not very exciting - usually you're alone in a room with your tools paper, pen, imagination. (I usually write long-hand first, then put it on a computer.)
I walk the dog, ride my horse, wander the grocery store wondering what to cook
for dinner.
So much for my glamourous life.
I have a great husband, a wonderful son; I won't invade their privacy by saying any
more.
Unless I want to write about them.
-S.E. Hinton
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I just read The Outsiders in school, and i couldnt get over the names. why was
there such vivid names? (Question submitted by Theo)
A: I do remember at that age everyone wishing they were named something else,
probably part of establishing an idenity other than the one your parents have for
you. The strange names seemed to fit the characters, though, so I left them.
Q: Was it hard to come up with such a fantastic plot for "The Outsiders?"
(Question submitted by Cassie)
A: I don't know how "fantastic" the Outsiders plot is--plotting is always the
hardest part for me. I basically just made it up as I went along (for instance, I
didn't think of buring the church until I was right there in the story.) My strong
points are characters and dialog--I wish I could come up with more plots!
Q Will u ever write anything about your life in junior high or even younger?
(Question submitted by Jannie)
A: I really don't know. I never know when or what idea for a story will hit me.
Q: Why do you only use your last name instead of your full name? (Question
submitted by Jason)
A: I use my intials instead of my first name because the pulishers were afraid the
first reviewers would assume a girl couldn't write a book like the Outsiders.
After that, I found liked the privacy of having a "public" name and a private
one, so it has worked out fine.
Q: Why don't you make public appearances? (Question submitted by Andy)
A: I no longer make public appearances because I don't like to travel, I don't like
speaking in public, it got too crazy and after 30 years of it I no longer feel like I
do a good job at it. Anyway, it is always the book that's important, not the
writer. The message, not the messenger.
Q: What book did you like writing the best? (Question submitted by Andy)
A: I really enjoyed writing the Outsiders the most--I wasn't thinking about
getting it published or what reviewers would think, I just was totally involved in
the story. It's hard to do that when it is your profession.
Q: Why are all of your main characters male? (Question submitted by Jennifer)
A: I started using male characters just because it was easiest was a tomboy, most
of my close friends were boys, and I figured nobody would believe a girl would
know anything about my subject matter. I have kept on using male characters
because (1) boys have fewer books written for them (2) girls will read boys'
books, boys usually won't read girls', and (3) it is still the easiest for me. My
elementary age book, The Puppy Sister, is told from a female point of view.
Female puppy, that is, if that counts.
Q: Are any of your stories, other than Taming The Star-Runner, about your own
life experiences, or do you just have a really great perspective on life? (Question
submitted by Jennifer)
A: Actually, although I ride, and a few of the things that happen to Travis when
he sells his first book, happened to me (I was home alone with my cat when the
phone call came) Taming The Star-Runner really isn't about my life experiences.
Sometimes things from real life inspire me--the social situation in my high school
inspired a great deal of The Outsiders, but the book itself is fictional. Many times
I don't realize where I got an idea for a book until years after it is written! The
closest one to my real life is my picture book, Big David, Little David, which is
almost true word for word.
Q: How did you first get the idea to write The Outsiders? (Question by Elise)
A: I wrote The Outsiders because I (1) like to write (2)was mad about the social
situtation in my high school where everyone got in their little group and wouldn't
make friends outside it and (3) I wanted to read it. There was no realistic fiction
being written about teen-agers when I was in high school--everything was
"Mary-Jane Goes to The Prom".
Q: What did you want reader's to get out of your book when you started writing
them? (Question by Elise)
A: I hate to say this, but when I start writing I just don't think of the reader. I
think of the characters, what will happen to them, I want to please myself (I'm a
pretty good critic) but I don't think about readers until the book is published.
Naturally, then I hope they like it.
Q: What was it like to get your book published at such an early age? (Question by
Elise)
A: It was very exciting to get my book published--but it's very exciting at any
age!
Q:Do you think you will ever write a sequel to "The Outsiders"? (Question by
Elise)
A: No, never.
Contact Info
Looking to contact S.E. Hinton? Tell her you're her biggest fan? Ask something
about her books? Here's your chancesehinton@sehinton.com