Francesca Lia Block

Francesca Lia Block
Born (1962-12-03) December 3, 1962
Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation Writer
Language English
Period 1989–present
Notable awards Margaret Edwards Award
2005

Francesca Lia Block (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and young-adult literature: fiction, short stories, screenplays and poetry. She is known best for the Weetzie Bat series[1] — named after its first installment and her first novel, which she wrote while a UC Berkeley student, Weetzie Bat (HarperColins, 1989). She is known for her use of imagery, especially in describing the city of Los Angeles.[2] One New York Times Book Review critic said, "Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler."[3] She won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2005 for her contribution in writing for teens.[4]

Early life

Block was born in Los Angeles to a poet and a painter, their creativity an obvious influence on her writing. Another influence was her childhood love of Greek mythology and fairy tales. She left her birth city only to attend UC Berkeley.

Career

While perhaps best known for her novels, Block is also a lifelong writer of poetry. Her first two books, Moon Harvest (1978) and Season of Green (1979), were small-press illustrated poetry collections, now out of print.[5] Since then, she has released several standalone collections of poetry, as well as incorporating poetry and lyrics into many of her novels.

Block has stated that she got into writing in a more roundabout way than most others - she did not originally start out with an editor, but was able to be published by using her connections. She has stated that at the time, publishers may have been more open to receiving shorter books.[6]

In 2014, she was named Writer-in-Residence at Pasadena City College.[7] Block is a member of the Authors Guild, Authors League of America, and the Writers Guild of America. Block's work has been translated into several different languages, including French, Italian, German, and Japanese, and is published around the world.[5]

In 2018, it was confirmed that Weetzie Bat would be produced as a feature film, with Justin Kelly attached as director. Block wrote the screenplay for the film.[8]

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

Weetzie Bat, or Dangerous Angels series
  1. Weetzie Bat (1989) — winner of the 2009 Phoenix Award[9]
  2. Witch Baby (1991)
  3. Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys (1992)
  4. Missing Angel Juan (1993)
  5. Baby Be-Bop (1995)
  6. Necklace of Kisses (2005)
  7. Pink Smog (2012), prequel
 Omnibus editions[10]
  • Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books, volumes 1–5 (1998)
  • Beautiful Boys: Two Weetzie Bat Books, 4–5 (2004)
  • Goat Girls: Two Weetzie Bat Books, 2–3 (2004)
Standalone novels
  • Ecstasia (1993)
  • The Hanged Man (1994)
  • Primavera (1994)
  • I Was A Teenage Fairy (1998)
  • Violet and Claire (1999)
  • The Rose and the Beast (2000)
  • Echo (2001)
  • Wasteland (2003)
  • Ruby (2006)
  • Psyche In A Dress (2006)
  • Blood Roses (2008)
  • Quakeland (2008)
  • The Waters and the Wild (2009)
  • Pretty Dead (2009)
  • The Frenzy (2010)
  • House of Dolls (2010)
  • Elementals (St. Martin's Press, 2013)
  • Love in the Time of Global Warming (2013)
  • Teen Spirit (2014)
  • The Island of Excess Love (2014)
  • Beyond the Pale Motel (2014)
  • My Miserable Life (2016), as F.L. Block
Collections
  • Moon Harvest: Poems (1978), poetry
  • Season of Green: Poems (1979), poetry
  • Girl Goddess #9: Nine Stories (1996), short stories
  • Nymph: Nine Erotic Stories (2003), short stories
  • Blood Roses (2008), short stories
  • How to (Un)cage a Girl (2008), poetry
  • Open Letter to Quiet Light (2009), poetry
  • Blood Roses (2010), omnibus of Psyche in a Dress, Echo, and The Rose and the Beast
  • Fairy Tales in Electri-City (2011), poetry
  • Love Magick (2012), editor of anthology
 Non-fiction and other
  • Zine Scene: the do it yourself guide to zines (1998)
  • Guarding the Moon: A Mother's First Year (2003)
  • Wood Nymph Seeks Centaur: A Mythological Dating Guide (2009)
  • Evidence of Angels (2009), with photographer Suza Scalora
  • The Thorn Necklace: Healing Through Writing and the Creative process (2018)

References

  1. ↑ Dinitia Smith (2005-05-23). "Writing Frankly, Young-Adult Author Pushes Limits". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  2. ↑ Carolyn Kellogg (2012-03-12). "Francesca Lia Block takes her mortgage woes public". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  3. ↑ Francesca Lia Block (2011-10-25). "Author Francesca Lia Block on Occupy Wall Street: Meditations in the Dark". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  4. 1 2 "2005 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). American Library Association (ALA).
      "Edwards Award". YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  5. 1 2 "Francesca Lia Block (1962-) Biography - Awards, Honors, Sidelights - Personal, Addresses, Career, Member, Writings, Adaptations". JRank. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  6. ↑ "JUST WRITE: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FRANCESCA LIA BLOCK". www.loveispop.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  7. ↑ Hillary. "Francesca Lia Block - About". www.francescaliablock.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  8. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (2018-07-11). "Anya Taylor-Joy, Nick Robinson & Sasha Lane Star In 'Weetzie Bat' Film Adaptation". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  9. 1 2 "Phoenix Award Brochure 2012". Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
    See also the current homepage "Phoenix Award".
  10. ↑ Francesca Lia Block at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2014-09-04. Select a title to see its linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
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