SLJ Interviews Vince Vawter, Newbery Honor-Winning Author of ‘Paperboy’

Vince Vawter talks about his semi-autobiographical, Newbery Honor-winning book, his boyhood with a debilitating stutter, and the “overwhelming” response to Paperboy.
Vince Vawter_credit J Miles Cary

Photo of Vince Vawter by J. Mile Cary.

Author Vince Vawter already had a 40-year career in newspapers behind him when he wrote Paperboy (Delacorte, 2013), his Newbery Honor-winning book about a boy contending with a debilitating stutter while growing up in segregated Memphis. School Library Journal caught up with Vawter at this year’s American Library Association Annual Conference (ALA; June 26–July 1), where he accepted his honor. The author discussed writing, his youth as a stutterer, the book's support from the stuttering community, and his views on library conferences and awards. Describe Paperboy. Paperboy is the story of an 11-year-old boy growing up in Memphis in 1959 who must face his debilitating stutter when he takes on his friend’s afternoon newspaper route for a month. In struggling to find his voice, a new world opens up to the boy through the people he meets on his route. He discovers that life is about much more than stuttering. The story is semi-autobiographical. What would you like to share about growing up as a stutterer? It was a lonely and confusing time in 1959, and it’s no different today. Great strides have been made in the field of speech therapy in the past 50 years, but stuttering continues to be a baffling and much misunderstood malady. All the scenes in the book dealing with stuttering, such as when the paperboy passes out while trying to say his name, and when he gets embarrassed at a dinner party and loses his supper, came right out of my childhood experiences.   paperboyHave you heard from many readers who are stutterers? Yes—and their parents and their speech pathologists. The response has been overwhelming. Several speech therapists have shared with me that they are using the book in some of their therapy sessions. I have had the privilege of video-chatting with several young people who are struggling to find their voices. This has been one of the greatest rewards of the book. Looking back on your life, what is your advice to kids who are coping with stuttering? I share my three-part “Stuttering Manifesto.” One: Stuttering is what we do when we try not to stutter. Two: Stuttering is not cured. It is overcome. Three: Fluency is not all it’s cracked up to be. Finding your voice is the only thing that’s important. You are new to the world of children's literature.  When you were writing Paperboy, did you realize you were writing a middle grade novel? Absolutely not. I just told the story. I understand that you have some writing rules.  Can you share them with us? Watch video on Vawter's "Three Rules of Writing." : What is the most surprising thing you have experienced since you joined the kid lit world?  The large number of people–librarians, educators, parents, health professionals—who are out there searching for quality books that young people can read, and from which they can gain insight.  Describe the impact of receiving a Newbery Honor.  Watch video:   Tell us about receiving the call notifying you that you’d won a Newbery Honor, back in January. Watch video: What did you think of your first American Library Association Conference? As a newspaper editor and publisher, I attended many large industry conferences and award ceremonies through the years. I had in mind the ALA conference would be something like this, but I was not prepared for the scope and the dynamics I experienced. I felt right at home with all those wonderful book lovers.  I started writing books much too late in life.
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