A Tribute to Patty Campbell

Today’s YA readers benefit from knowing the wise elders of our field: those who promoted, defended, and celebrated young adult literature when doing so was far less popular than it is now. Furthermore, those of us who see ourselves as today’s YA advocates need to know the history that we build upon when we speak and write on behalf of these books and the teens they serve.

Patty Campbell is at the center of that history. Tune in to hear about Patty’s roots as a teen services librarian in late-sixties Los Angeles when YA as a field was just beginning; her long and distinguished career as a writer and critic; her privileged role as Robert Cormier’s biographer; and her shaping influence as the editor of Twayne’s Young Adult Author series and Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature.

After listening, be sure to print out this list of recommended titles to take with you to your local library or bookseller.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Campbell’s Scoop: Reflections on Young Adult Literature by Patty Campbell (Scarecrow Press, 2010)
• Robert Cormier: Daring to Disturb the Universe by Patty Campbell (Delacorte Press, 2006)
• War Is: Soldiers, Survivors, and Storytellers Talk about War edited by Marc Aronson & Patty Campbell (Candlewick Press, 2008)