Rodman Philbrick
Rodman Philbrick has been writing since the age of sixteen. He had published more than a dozen novels for adults before The Blue Sky Press published his first book for young readers, Freak the Mighty, which was made into the feature film The Mighty, starring Sharon Stone. Since then, he has won numerous awards and honors, including the prestigious California Young Reader's Medal, the Arizona Young Reader's Award, the Washington D.C. 'Capital Choice' award and the New York State 'Charlotte' Award.
Philbrick's most recent novel for young readers, The Young Man And The Sea, draws upon his youthful experiences as a boat builder, and his vivid memories of growing up in a small town on the coast of New England. Working from a theme made famous by Ernest Hemingway, the story follows the thrilling boy-against-the-sea adventure of twelve-year-old Skiff Beaman, who risks his life to save his family by venturing far offshore in a small boat in search of the fabled giant Bluefin tuna.
Other works by Rodman Philbrick include Max The Mighty, The Fire Pony, REM World, The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds, and The Last Book In The Universe.
Rod and his wife, Lynn Harnett, divide their time between Maine and the Florida Keys.
(Courtesy of Scholastic)
A Talk with Author Rod Philbrick
Question: Where were you born? Where did you grow up?
Answer: I was born in Boston (where my Dad happened to be working at the time) and grew up in a small town on the coast of New Hampshire, where my grandmother rented out cottages to summer visitors.
Question: How old are you? Are you married? Do you have any kids?
Answer: I was born in 1951. Lynn Harnett and I have been married since 1980. We don't have any kids. It wasn't planned, it just happened that way. I do have three younger brothers, and many nieces and nephews. Lynn also has three younger brothers and several nieces.
Question: When did you start writing?
Answer: I started writing short stories in the 6th grade. I never told anyone in school that I was a writer - it didn't seem like something that would make a boy popular, and I desperately wanted to be popular. Not that I ever was! I wrote many stories, all of which were rejected, and managed to finish a novel in the 11th grade. That, too, was rejected. All in all I wrote eight or ten novels before one was finally accepted.
Question: Have you always written for kids?
Answer: No. For the first fifteen years of my career as a novelist, I wrote only for adult readers. Mysteries, suspense novels, thrillers, and so on. Then I stumbled on the idea for a story that had been happening in my backyard, so to speak, and wrote 'Freak The Mighty' in the summer of 1992. Since then I've published books for young readers, as well as novels intended for adults.
Question: What's it like writing a book with someone else?
Answer: It depends on who you're writing with! My only collaborator has been - or is ever likely to be - my wife Lynn Harnett. Lynn is an experienced writer and an editor. When my publisher asked if we'd like to write a series of scary stories for young readers we said 'yes'. Our first series was a haunted house trilogy called 'The House On Cherry Street'. So far we've written ten books together, but continue to write books on our own as well.
Question: Do you have any hobbies?
Answer: I'm an avid fisherman, and practice the fine art of angling as frequently as possible. When we're in Maine I fish mostly for striped bass and bluefish. When we're in the Florida Keys I fish for a variety of species, including the giant tarpon. Except when I'm going to cook fish for supper, I always practice 'hook and release'.