>> From the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. >> So, for our next authors coming to the stage, we are going to have two it's going to be like a little panel and so we are going to have Ellen Oh and Meg Medina, and so do any of you have any favorite stories you like to tell? Just show me with a show of hands. Do you have any favorite stories you like to tell? Anybody? Come on. We all have our favorite stories you know, we talk about that one time we fell down the stairs and the one time, you know, we had milk shoot out of our nose and things like that. Okay, yeah me too. Everybody has their favorite stories, and so do these two people who are coming to the stage. They also have many of their favorite stories to tell. They've worked together to write "Flying Lessons & Other Stories." The people I mentioned are Ellen Oh and Megan Medina who are two of ten collaborators, that's a big word, collaborators here for their story collection; ten people all working together that's what the means, "collaborating" working together to write one pieces. That's so, that's so much fun. In this collection, is not only funny, but it's also sweet. So it makes your heart feel like oh, you know, it's sweet. This impressive group of authors and these two who are here today, they have earned among these two and the other eight authors, they've earned every major award in children's publishing. That is a lot of awards. Let's give them a hand for that. [ Applause ] That's more awards than I can even attempt to name in this intro. And they've gained popularity as New York Times bestsellers. These distinguished authors deliver a book full of ten unique and vibrant stories and I can't wait to see which one's they've chosen to share with us today. Please give a warm welcome to Ellen Oh and Meg Medina. [ Applause ] >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. Hi everyone. I'm kind of jealous of your bing bags. I want one up here. [ Background Conversations ] >> Should I just start singing into; oh, it's one now. Hi. I almost started to sing a song for you and then you would have run away. Thank you all for coming. We are here to talk about this book called "Flying Lessons & Other Stories" and I'm the editor of this book. It's an anthology and it's put out by We Need Diverse Books and Random House Crown Books for Kids, and Meg Medina who is also one of the, you know, founding members of We Need Diverse Books. It has her wonderful story in here too. So, does anybody know about We Need Diverse Books? Yeah. Wonderful. So, we did this anthology because we wanted to make sure that there was a book of stories that kind of like represented everyone's life experiences, everyone's personal stories, and to kind of let people know that we are all the same as humans, but with a diverse range of stories and backgrounds and cultures, and sharing those stories is really the best way to kind of like have an impact in the world and get to know each other better. So, I wanted to kind of talk about who we're missing today though. >> Meg Medina: Yes. >> Ellen Oh: We are missing Tim Tingle and Kwame Alexander. Kwame had a very sad personal tragedy in the family and so we miss; we will miss him here today of course and Tim is in Texas and we all know how bad the situation is over there and that's why he couldn't come over. So, Meg had this great idea, if you don't mind, I can't take selfies, but maybe she can take a selfie of us with you guys is that okay and we can say to Kwame and Tim? >> Meg Medina: Her arms are too short. We're going to turn around and we're going to take a picture of you, so try to look good. Okay? >> Ellen Oh: Okay? >> Meg Medina: And we're going to tweet this; we're going to send this Kwame and Tim and tell them we're thinking of them and we miss them. Okay? >> Ellen Oh: So, everybody say hi. >> Meg Medina: So, look good. Alright? Alright. >> Ellen Oh: Don't make fun of our backs. >> Meg Medina: Are we ready? >> Ellen Oh: Oh, there's a lot of them. >> Meg Medina: Yeah. >> Ellen Oh: Alright. >> Meg Medina: One, two, three. >> Ellen Oh: Okay, immortalized. I'll send it after we finish talking today. Thank you. Okay, so one of the things about We Need Diverse Books is that the idea of having diverse stories is really important because stories are a universal experience, and I love this anthology because I think what every author here did was write a story that was very personal to them; something that they might not have shared or something that really kind of is reflective of a story that they never saw for themselves when they were younger and I think that, you know, the best way to start maybe is to kind of talk about some of the stories exactly in here. And, let's see, what are we going to do? We, we're going to talk about how do they, fiction and fact. >> Meg Medina: Yes. Alright, so no matter what you write as a writer even if you're writing fiction, you're not really too far away from your truth ever. So, things you remember from being a kid, the person who scared you, the person who loved you, your favorite teacher, your most horrifying teacher, your best friend, the friend that made your life miserable last year, etcetera-etcetera. They all stay in there and I think in these ten stories we all did pretty much that, a version of that. So, who was here this morning when RJ Palacio came to speak this morning, raise your hand? Yeah, I was here too. I got up very early for that. So, here's a funny thing that Raquel and I, or RJ Palacio and I were best friends growing up in elementary school. Which is a great friend; she lived on a 160th Street and lived on 158th Street. Raquel's family is from Columbia and my family is from Cuba and so we were the only two Latina girls in our class. Now, we had lots of different kids in our class. We were very lucky that we were in a school that had lots of different backgrounds, but we happened to be the only two Latina girls in the class. So, I remember one time her building was two blocks from mine and they all looked the same. Do any of you live like that? We lived on a series of blocks that were four buildings that were exactly the same; one, two, three, four. I can tell them apart because of the stoop and the names on the bells and things like that, but they were different. You know, they were basically the same building. And one day, the police cars came outside of Raquel's building and then the ambulances came, and then all the neighbors came out and stood around like "what's happening, what's happening?" And the very sad thing that happened is that an older gentleman had passed away. He had died in his apartment on the first floor. Raquel lived on the first floor. And so we were so afraid that we had been in this building with this dead body and this man and we were, it was just amazing watching this whole thing transpire. So, when Ellen came to me and she said, "Will you be in this anthology?" And she's going to tell you all about Soman and how that came to be. I said, "Yes! Of course." And she said, "It's middle grade. So you want to really write a story that has to do with kids, nine, ten, eleven, twelve in that age group." And I thought, the dead body in Raque's building. So, when it came time to writing "Sol Painting" that's what I pulled from. Should I do that paragraph? >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. >> Meg Medina: And this is what it sounds like when you take something from real life and then you mix it all up and you make it into fiction and this is just the first paragraph. "I reach inside the window of Papi's van and I yank on the handle to open the passenger door. It's my turn to ride in front. Roli sat there last time. You think they'll need a painter in there soon, Papi asked as I slide in next to him. I follow his gaze to the second floor of building twenty-two. Men dressed like astronauts are tossing furniture into the tall canisters that are marked "biohazard." Dona Roza, one of the old ladies who lived over there died in her living room last week. Her TV was on so no one knew anything was wrong for two whole days. That means we were all sleeping near a corpse. A shiver runs through me every time I think about Dona Roza's ghost hovering in the halls, insulted that no one noticed she was dead." So, I think that's how we do these things. [ Applause ] We figure out the piece of childhood, the things that happened to us when we're kids that we never forget and sometimes they're really big things and sometimes they're a really small thing and then we steal them and we stretch them and we change them and we make them into fiction. Is that how you do it? >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. Kind of. I don't know how I really do it. I have no secrets. I'm just a mess inside. But I'll tell you this, I had to write the forward for the anthology and does; how many of you are writers? Anybody writers? Okay. Alright, if you are a writer you know my pain, right? Isn't it hard drafting that first version of whatever you have to write? Yeah, yeah? Okay, if you said no, I don't like you. But, so I had to write the forward for this anthology and at first I was like "We Need Diverse Books because it's good for the kids" and my editor was like, "No, no nobody's going to read that." I'm like, "Well, okay you know let me do some research." Statistics say that blah, blah, blah, blah." "No, no. That's not working for us." And is say, "Okay." >> Meg Medina: Don't you love editors? >> Ellen Oh: I love and hate my editor, right? And I said to her, "What do you want from me?" And she said, "Just tell us a personal story that meant something to you, that would kind of you know resound in your readers, like that they could kind of relate to." I said, "Okay, I'll tell them the cat story." And this is a true story. When I was nine of ten-years-old, I forget. It's kind of a blur. I was walking down the streets; I grew up in Brooklyn and I also was in one of those big like buildings that everybody can't tell apart. But my building had a big "No pets allowed" sign in the lobby, right? And I always wanted a pet. I mean, I have, I had a baby sister, but kind of you know, babies they coo, they're in the diapers all the time, they're no fun. I wanted a pet, and I happened to be walking home one day from the library, of course, because I lived in a library and there was a kitten. A cute little black and white kitten right next to the dumpster and I was like "Oh my god this is so cute. I'm going to name him George and I'm going to take him home with me and nobody will know that I have him in my room. My parents will never know and I'll take care of him." And I hid George under my shirt and I walked the five blocks home. Well, by the time I got home I looked like Frankenstein. Like I was like, he had managed to scratch every part of my body. My eyes were swollen shut. I looked like boiled eggs, you know, just like. I had like leech marks all over my body and I could barely see, but I stumble into my house and my parents are like, "Oh my! What the heck happened!" And I'm like, "This is my cat George. I love him." And they said, "He's trying to kill you. You're allergic to cats." I was like, "No." And my parents took the cat away and I'm like, "No George come back." And he went arsk! He scratched me one good time. And the reason why I ended up telling that story in the forward is because literally every family reunion after that my parents would be like oh the story. "Remember that time Ellen, you know, found a cat that tried to kill her?" So, a now I have dogs. I'm not allergic to dogs. I have two dogs. Cats hate me. But I love that story because it kind of tells exactly how, you know, childhood is; children when you're going through life you will have good moments and bad moments. You will make horrendous mistakes like picking up a stray cat from a dumpster and then you'll have wonderful glorious moments too and I think kind of like those stories. >> Meg Medina: Yeah. >> Ellen Oh: Everyone has them and I, we wanted a chance to share those stories in this anthology which. >> Meg Medina: I want to tell them about the title. >> Ellen Oh: Yes. >> Meg Medina: To me, like do I have anyone out here is a Soman Chainani fan? Ah. >> Ellen Oh: Ah. >> Meg Medina: Yes. And so, Soman's story is called "Flying Lessons" and it ended up being the title of the whole anthology. >> Ellen Oh: "Flying Lessons. >> Meg Medina: Which I love and his story is like almost directly from life. >> Ellen Oh: Yes. >> Meg Medina: Because of his grandmother. >> Ellen Oh: Yes. >> Meg Medina: Right? >> Ellen Oh: May I read? Okay, I'm going to skip ahead and do this one thing. When you write short stories, right, it's very different from writing novels. It's really, really hard which is why I didn't write a short story and Meg did. So, I had the easy job. Well, one of the things about short stories is how quickly can you hook the reader, right? Now if you notice when Meg read her story, I think as soon as she got to the dead body part you were like wow, I kind of need to keep reading. Am I right? Am I right? Dead bodies kind of do that. Alright, so let me read you Soman's first line of his story which is right here. Flying Lessons; Soman Chainani. "Nani wears a fur coat to the beach." >> Meg Medina: Yeah. >> Ellen Oh: Okay, right there. Now when he told me this story before WNDB every came to be, before this anthology ever came to be, he told me Nani wore stilettos and a fur coat to the beach and I'm like dying with laughter. And what's funny is that as kind of like the kids of immigrants, we were like telling these stories to each other and we're laughing and we're connecting and I remember saying to him, "These stories would make a great anthology." So fast forward a couple of months later, WNDB happens and I say to Soman who we happen to be having breakfast with our mutual editor Phoebe Yeh and I said, "Hey, Soman remember that story about Nani going, you're grandmother going to the beach in a, you know, full fur coat and stilettos and leaving you there on a nude beach when you were eleven-years-old?" And he's like "Yeah." I said, "Can you write that story for the WNDB anthology?" And he's like, "Of course." And that's how it came to be. >> Meg Medina: I think we all said of course. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. >> Meg Medina: Like every author that Ellen I think called and you said "Would you be willing to", like before you even finished this sentence we said yes. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. >> Meg Medina: And I think that is because I think all ten of us feel so strongly that we want everybody to see themselves in the pages of those books. So, to the extent that we could write a story from our own like race, Lin from her spot and Jackie Woodson from hers, and Kwame Alexander from his, and Tim Federle, I mean all of us our own tiny little piece of experience and put it out there. I think what happens sometimes with storybooks like this is that kids get to, they don't maybe connect with every single story, but there is at least one that has a character that they go, "That's exactly what it feels like to be me, or that's exactly like someone I know." And that for me has been like the fun part. And I do love story. I love writing short story. Does anybody here write shorty story at school? Yes, I love them. I love them because you know how I think of them is I think of them like paintings and here's the difference. When I'm writing short story, it's like being an impressionist painter, it's dabs. It's little points of color and you have to sort of stand back from the work and then you see the picture of the boats and the women in the background and so on, but when you're up close to it you don't really see it. You're just sort of suggesting. Well, when you write a novel, you have to write every last character, you have to fill-in every single line, and that's a really realistic painting, those paintings that you, it looks like you can take the apple right out of that painting and eat it. So, for me I think the beauty of the short story is that, that it's just like a little nugget that gives the reader an idea of the whole world that that kid is in and I also like that it's short, because sometimes reading makes you tired, right? I love to read but sometimes I get tired reading, and so when I have a book of short storied I can read one, I can read two, and then I'm good. What do you love? >> Ellen Oh: I don't get tired reading. >> Meg Medina: Never? >> Ellen Oh: No. I don't get; if I don't like the book that's different, but I don't get tired of reading. I have another problem. I'm like once I start I can't stop. >> Meg Medina: Oh. >> Ellen Oh: Anybody one of those? Once I start, I cannot stop which means four O'clock in the morning I'm still like reading. >> Meg Medina: Yeah. >> Ellen Oh: Which is, you know, which is not great, but yeah no. I don't get tired of reading, but I think what I love about short stories is that it is kind of like a perfect microcosm right there for you to jump in, get to know a world and then jump back out. You know, and which like let's face it, with a novel you kind of have to have you know four, five, six hours having; who are slow readers? Anybody take like days to read? Yeah. I feel you. No, not really. I read very fast. I read like in a couple of hours, but I feel the pain of taking a longtime to read. So, I think what short stories do is allow you to get in and out of that world really quickly which is really great, and what I like about the short stories here is that you have all ranges. You can, you have the stories that make you cry, right? I cried when I read Jacqueline Woodson's story; Jackie Woodson fans here? Yes. "Brown Girl Dreaming" should be required reading for everyone. She wrote the most beautiful story in this book and I cried. I cried even reading Matt de la Pema's story. Who; basketball fans, any basketball fans? Yes. Alright, you know, when we talk about like how truth goes into your fiction, Matt played basketball, blah-blah, all his life and he wrote a basketball story which is just amazing, a realistic and brilliance, and like Kwame wrote a book in verse of story in verse, so. >> Meg Medina: Yeah, we're never far from our truth I think and there's a new anthology coming. >> Ellen Oh: Oh yeah. >> Meg Medina: So. >> Ellen Oh: Young adults. >> Meg Medina: For teens, right? So that comes out next year. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. >> Meg Medina: I think. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. >> Meg Medina: Who's in it? >> Ellen Oh: Lamar Giles is the editor and that will be called "Fresh Inc." It's going to have Jason Reynolds, Nicole Yoon, Daniel Jose Older, Malinda Lo, Sharon Flake, Gene Luen Yang, Eric Gansworth, Sara Farizan, and Melissa de la Cruz. So there's a superstar list of authors in that anthology too. Yes. >> What's it called again? >> Ellen Oh: It's called "Fresh Inc." It will come out next year. >> Meg Medina: It's called what? >> Ellen Oh: "Fresh Inc." >> Meg Medina: "Fresh Inc." >> Ellen Oh: "Fresh Inc." Yeah. >> Meg Medina: For YA anthology. >> Ellen Oh: Uh-hum. For YA anthology. What, but you know what? Wonderful news. Also, from "Flying Lessons" is that Meg's story is also going to be a novel. Meg. >> Meg Medina: Yeah. So, when I finished writing "Sol Paining, Inc." Phoebe said to me, "I have a funny feeling that these people, that there's more to this story than just this story." I said, "Oh, yeah that's interesting", and I just went away. And then I published with Candlewick usually and so I was contracted for a couple of other books, and so I started to write this middle grade novel that my thinking is that it's about a young girl whose grandfather is changing at the same time she is changing and it ended up being Mercy, and Chloe [phonetic] and all the same people; the Suarez family come to be. So it was really like the opposite experience and so I had this tiny little morsel and I had to pullout. But as it happens, I've done that before. I have a novel called, "Yaqui Delgaldo" and that book also began as a short story and became a novel. So, sometimes it's just framework. It's just sort of what I'm changing here and there. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. >> Meg Medina: So, and you have a novel out this year also. >> Ellen Oh: Oh, yeah. >> Meg Medina: It's scary. >> Ellen Oh: Does anybody like ghost stories? Yeah, okay great. You like really, really scary ghost stories? No? Who said no? Who said no? Okay, I'll pretend I didn't hear that no. I love scary stories. I mean, like I was a kid that read Stephen King like in the middle of the night where I curled up in my bed and then I had to pee and the hallway was really dark and I'm like, "I can't go out there. There's a clown that's going to kill me." I saw many sunrises before I was able to go the bathroom safely. But, I wrote a; so I had to write a ghost story and the ghost story I wrote is called "Spirit Hunters" and it's out right now. And it's about a girl who can see ghosts but doesn't realize she can see ghosts until about halfway through; that's a little bit of a spoiler. But while I was writing this book, this is a true story. Ignore the man in the black on the stage. While I was writing "Spirit Hunters" I like to write in the middle of night. So, it's two O'clock in the morning and I have a dog and all of a sudden my dog comes running into my room and starts barking at absolutely nothing, and I'm like "Why are you doing that?" >> Meg Medina: Doo, doo, doo, doo. Doo, doo, doo, doo. >> Ellen Oh: "Who are you barking at?" And then all of the goosebumps up and down my arms. The hair stands on my like up on my head and I'm like there is something in this room with me and my dog and I cannot see them, and I got to get the, you know, whoops, I got to get out of there! So, while I wrote my ghost story, I was visited by real ghosts and I think they were telling me that I was doing a really good job, because I've already had people tell me this book is too scary for them to read and they're adults. Ha, ha, ha, ha. So, I know that kids can take it better, right kids? >> Yeah. >> Ellen Oh: Alright, yeah we're braver than adults. Did you notice I said "we?" I admit it. I am a kid at heart. So, kids are braver than adults. So, yeah this is a very scary ghost story. The adults might have to take it with a little bit of a warning, but yeah so that's another true story. I was visited by a ghost or maybe it was my imagination. You can take with it what you want. >> Meg Medina: I'm fascinated by you. I can't stop watching her beautiful hands. How about you guys? Are you finding that you're watching her a lot? I think it's amazing. What do you want to know? Questions? >> Ellen Oh: Yeah, does anybody? >> Meg Medina: Oh, but wait. They told me that if you have questions they'd like you to go the microphones on either side. So, what would you like to know about writing, about any of the stories in the book, about us as writers? Raise your hand. Thoughts, questions. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah, go up to the mic right there. Uh-huh. I'm going to steel your bing bag. >> Meg Medina: I do love these bing bags. >> Ellen Oh: I know right. >> Meg Medina: We're going to start on this side. >> Do you know about how many books you've written? >> Ellen Oh: I know how many I've wrote. >> Meg Medina: Yes. Alright, so you tell them while I count mine. >> Ellen Oh: Oh, yeah I have to count; I have written four books. I've been three anthologies, and I have another book coming out next year which is; which will have a new name, but currently is called Soul Eaters and it's a sequel to "Spirit Hunters" and it's even scarier than "Spirit Hunters." >> Meg Medina: And I've wrote six, and I have an, I'll be in another anthology this March called the "Radical Element" for teens and my next book based on "Sol Painting Inc." comes out next fall. >> Okay, thank you. >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. >> How long did it take to get like every author's like little story? >> Ellen Oh: Oh, that's a good question. How long did it take me to get everyone's story into the anthology? Well, we gave them deadlines but not all of them listened to the deadlines. So, it ranges. We had some people give their stories right away like within like three to five months and we had a few that took like oh maybe a year. It just kind of like depends also on their schedules, like a lot of authors they have so many commitments already that writing for us I knew it was a big ask, so. Thank you. Next, uh-huh. >> I was wondering what your favorite horror movie was. >> Ellen Oh: Oh-oh. Okay, favorite horror movie was Stephen King's "The Shining." The movie that scared me the most was "The Ring" and that it was because, okay I could not sleep for months after "The Ring" and my kid was like, you know, five-years-old and had long black hair like this. And in the middle of the night she came over saying "Mommy." And I have not watched a horror movie since, but I'll read them. >> Meg Medina: I like "Get Out." That's my current. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. I forgot about that. >> Meg Medina: Yeah, That's my current favorite and I don't like scary movies. I hate to be scared. I'm a big fat chicken. >> Ellen Oh: Yes. >> What's your favorite movie? >> Meg Medina: Oh. Well, I like so many movies, but like every time I see a good one I say, that one's my favorite, but one that I sort of have liked throughout many years is called "Big Fish." >> Ellen Oh: Oh, that's a good one. >> Meg Medina: Yeah. "Big Fish" and it's strange and it's got magical realism and it's got all kinds of weird things. You can get it, like you can rent it, you can download it [inaudible], it's called "Big Fish." How about you? >> Ellen Oh: My favorite all time movie is the "Princess Bride." >> Mine's "Star Wars." >> Ellen Oh: Oh, "Star Wars." >> Meg Medina: "Star Wars." Yeah. Which one? >> The Clone Wars. >> Meg Medina: Oh, I get it. >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. Alright, this side. Yes, hi. >> Can you read us your scary story? >> Ellen Oh: I can't right now because I don't have it, but if you want to look for it it's in the libraries and the bookstores and it's called "Spirt Hunters" and hopefully maybe sometime soon I will be able to do a reading for it, but thank you. >> Okay. >> Meg Medina: Hi. >> Did everyone write one story or? >> Meg Medina: Did everyone write one story? >> Ellen Oh: Yeah, uh-huh. >> Meg Medina: Yeah. I think that's what. >> Ellen Oh: And then actually one thing we didn't mention was we had a short story contest where it was open for everybody like from kids to adults all throughout to write a story that could be included in the anthology and we had a short story winner, so. >> Meg Medina: It was Tracey. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah, Tracey Baptiste, "The Rice and Beans Chronicles." >> Meg Medina: Yeah. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah, yeah. I want you guys to remember that so the next time if you see a short story contest you should enter. >> Meg Medina: Enter, enter, enter is absolutely true. >> Where is this information? >> Ellen Oh: Oh, on our website; weneeddivresebooks.org. >> What's it? >> Ellen Oh: Weneeddiversebooks.org. Hi. >> What's your favorite book that you wrote? >> Meg Medina: Oh, you know that's like asking your; have you ever asked your mother who her favorite kid is? >> Yep. >> Meg Medina: It never goes well. I like different books for different reasons, right? So, I have a book called "Tia Isa Wants a Car" and I have a real Tia Isa who still lives with me and she really bought the first family car, so I kind of like that one, but I also like this booked called, "Yaqui Delgado" which is about bullying which I really liked also. Which, how about you? >> Ellen Oh: Oh, well right now I'm going to say my favorite book is still "Prophecy", because it was my first book and also because I wrote demons that eat your inside organs out and then wear your skin like a Halloween costume and I think that's so fun, so that's still my favorite. Is that, is that terrible? Oh fifteen minutes. Okay. Thank you. Hi. >> Hi. So, what's your favorite writing style? Do you like write things down and then forget about them or do you write things down when you have a complete idea of what you're going to write? >> Ellen Oh: Ah, that's a good question. >> Meg Medina: Yeah, so I think that I do not; I wish I were a writer that kept a journal. I wish I could say to you, "I have a journal. I keep track of everything and then I go back to it and pull things out." That's not really how I work, but I have a really great memory which makes me a very dangerous person to be related to. And so, I will think on something, I will remember myself at a particular age and then I sit down with a journal and I just remember that in as much detail as I can and I tell the truth about it which is the tricky part. I tell the truth about it as much as I can. You know, when we're adults sometimes what we try to do or what happens to us, is that we remember what it is to be a kid with a very happy face on it. We forget like the harder parts of being a kid. So, when I'm writing; when I'm remembering, I really try to remember the funny parts, the good parts, but I also really try to remember the very sad and difficult things when you're dumped, when your friend says they don't like you, when you're not invited to something, when you don't make the team, when you fail the test, when you're disappointed in your parents, when you find out your parents have lied, when you lie, like all of those things that we like to forget about. And I write about those and then I take them and I stretch them. I create like I'll take two or three people from real life and I smoosh them together to make one new character, but what always has to be there is the truth of what it felt like to be a kid in that situation. Everything else I make up. How do you do it? >> Ellen Oh: I'm an outliner. I outline everything and I think it's because of my being a lawyer for 20 years. I have to outline and I have conclusion and the answer is this and that's where I write to and my conclusion never changes. Everything else might change in the front or the middle, but I write to my conclusion. I think that's from being a lawyer and being like oh the answer has to be, you know, yes or no. >> Meg Medina: What kind of law did you do? >> Ellen Oh: Boring law. Very boring law. Thank you. Hi. >> How long does it take you to write a book? >> Ellen Oh: It's a that depends kind of question. It took me, for "Prophecy" I wrote a first draft in five months and revised it for three years. Yeah, how about you? >> Meg Medina: I, it really is different. Sometimes a picture book will take me three months, sometimes it will take me a year. A novel usually takes me about three years from the time I first have the idea to the time I see it in a book, and the short story, I want to say it took like six months for me to have, you know, work it out a couple of times, you know, and you know how this is. You write the first copy and it's terrible. >> Ellen Oh: Yes. >> Meg Medina: Right? And then you have to go back and reimagine it and fix what's terrible and keep working at it. Like that thing that your teachers do to you when they say, "You need to revise this. I don't understand this. This isn't clear." Like that never goes away if you're a writer. That is exactly what your editor will do to you as well until you get it right. >> Thank you. >> Ellen Oh: Hi. >> Hi. I just have a weird question. Do you write in the time that the story took place in say your life or you write nowish? >> Meg Medina: Yeah. Good question. >> Ellen Oh: Well you wrote "Burn Baby Burn." >> Meg Medina: Both. There's two. You get to choose. So you can write; when you're writing now, it's called contemporary, right? So, we do write contemporary works. Like these are all contemporary, or most of the stories are. >> Ellen Oh: Most of. >> Meg Medina: Grace's is a. >> Ellen Oh: Grace's is a; it's a fantasy, pirate, girl pirate story. >> Meg Medina: Right. But, I wrote another book for high schoolers called "Burn Baby Burn" which is set in 1977 in New York City, and that's historical fiction. That's history. And so you have to do all the research for that. But I'll tell you a secret, it really doesn't matter if you're writing historical fiction or contemporary. It always has to feel even if it's historical fiction, like it's really happening. Even if it's in 1940, you have to feel like you're in 1940. >> Also, weird question; if you're "Harry Potter" fans which Hogwarts house are you in? >> Ellen Oh: I'm a Ravenclaw! >> Meg Medina: Are you? >> Ellen Oh: Thank you, thank you, thank you. >> Meg Medina: I have not done the test. I would say, you know, I would say Gryffindor except they're just so good that I'm like, "Do I want to be that good?" I don't know. I know, I don't think I'd want to be a Slytherin, so would you let me be a Ravenclaw with you or? >> Ellen Oh: No I'm a Ravenclaw. She didn't take the test. She doesn't get to be distorted. Sorry. Take the test. >> Meg Medina: Fine, fine. I see how it is Ellen Oh. >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. HufflePuff. Hi. >> What's your favorite story in the book? >> Ellen Oh: Oh. You know that question about like who's your favorite kid? I have three, right? That's the same question to ask me as an editor. I love all of these stories for all different reasons, but Meg. >> Meg Medina: I have no such consumptions so I'm going to tell you Jackie Woodson's story is the last one in the anthology. It's truly beautiful. I love that book. I loved it. I loved it, loved it, loved it. They're all good, but that for me, it was my favorite. But favorite is like saying what's the best flavor of ice cream, right? >> Ellen Oh: Chocolate. >> Meg Medina: For somebody it's chocolate. For somebody else it's vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, mint chocolate chip, there's really no best. It's really. >> Ellen Oh: Chocolate. >> Meg Medina: What sings to your heart the most no matter what Ellen Oh says. >> Ellen Oh: Ravenclaw. Hi. Thank you. >> Hi. So, I one time flipped the pages to part of a book one time and it was scary that I dropped the book and screamed and it happened in the school library. >> Ellen Oh: Oh wait, wait it was scary because well was there a cockroach in it or something? >> No. So, it was night and there was like an owl or something and stars. >> Ellen Oh: Oh, it was a say it again. >> It was at night and there was like an owl or something and stars. >> Ellen Oh: Oh. Was it really scary? >> Yes. >> Meg Medina: Night is always scary. >> Ellen Oh: Do you think it was scarier because it was nighttime or it would have been scary any time of day? >> I think it was would have been scary any time of day. >> Ellen Oh: Oh, cool. I want to know what book that is. >> I don't know the title. >> Ellen Oh: Oh, but thank you. >> You're welcome. >> What's your favorite book? >> Ellen Oh: Favorite book. >> Meg Medina: Of all time, it was "Charlotte's Web." I loved "Charlotte's Web" because it was the first book that really made me cry which was an interesting reason to love a book right? Oh, good it made me cry, I like you. That's usually a smart thing, but until that time I was reading like words. I was reading to be a reader, but with "Charlotte's Web" that as I remember it, it was the first book where I was like thinking about friendship and thinking about other things. So, for me it was that. >> Ellen Oh: Well, when I was. >> Meg Medina: How about you? >> Ellen Oh: Yeah, when I was young my favorite book was actually "The Count of Monte Cristo" and I think I became a lawyer because of that book, because I was like "revenge!" >> Meg Medina: Do we see a theme with Ellen Oh? >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. Hi. >> Hello. What would you recommend to short story writers? >> Ellen Oh: Oh, what would we recommend? No you go. >> Meg Medina: What do I; what's the question? >> Ellen Oh: What would you recommend for short story writers? >> Meg Medina: Oh. Okay, so here is really what I would say, that the only way to become a better writer is just by doing it. It's a lot like exercise. Like when you first start to do something you're muscles hurt, you're taking Motrin, you're just everything hurts you and then you get stronger at it and you get more coordinated and you know what you're doing. The same thing happens with writing, so a lot of it is just doing it and doing it and doing it and getting better at it. >> Ellen Oh: And also reading every story. >> Meg Medina: Yeah. >> Ellen Oh: With anthology. >> Meg Medina: And read, well right and others. I think like for me, I read; there's not a day in my life that I haven't read some part of a book. Every single day reading is part of my life and I do that for my own personal enjoyment, but it also fills my toolbox with ideas with the way, different ways that people have solved problems in a book, different ways that they've drawn characters. So, the more you read the more you know how to do it, but mostly, I would say dive in, remember a good beginning those first two paragraphs have to grab you and then just be brave. Write your way through to the end. It might be terrible and then you have a chance to fix it all up again. >> Thank you. >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. Next. >> What is your favorite horror novel? >> Ellen Oh: Favorite horror novel. Oh, I like "It" a lot, but it's also why I hate clowns. Is anybody scared of clowns? Yeah, clowns are scary! They're not funny. What about you? What's your favorite? >> I don't have one. >> Ellen Oh: Okay, come back next year and tell me what your favorite is them. Thank you. Yes. >> What's your favorite animal? >> Ellen Oh: Favorite animal, I think we're dog lovers up here. >> Meg Medina: Ellen likes cats. >> Ellen Oh: Cats hate me. >> Meg Medina: Cats named George. I, my favorite animal; I have two. In the wild it's the elephant. I love the elephant because the head elephant is the oldest female and she has in her mind a memory of the entire grassland and she leads the entire pack to safety and where they need to be. I love that about elephants, and also when something bad happens to one of the elephants, they collect themselves and they help each other grieve. I just love that. They're also just big and weird looking, you know, I love that. But in practical terms, I love my dog. His name is Hugo Menendez, and Hugo Menendez is a black Labrador and a Dalmatian so he's got spotted paws and beautiful oily black skin or fur and he is a big chicken and I love him. You have cute dogs. >> Ellen Oh: I have two dogs yeah. They drive me crazy like my kids, but I love them. Thank you. Hi. >> Who's your favorite librarian? >> Ellen Oh: My favorite librarian right now, Dr. Carla Hayden. >> Meg Medina: Yes. >> Ellen Oh: Is my favorite librarian. >> Meg Medina: Carla Hayden. Woo! [ Applause ] >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. Hi. >> Do you write more than one book at a time? >> Ellen Oh: I can't even like eat and walk at the same time. >> Meg Medina: I've seen this. That's true actually. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah, yeah. >> Meg Medina: I try. Some writers can. Some writers love to do that because when they get sick of one or they get stuck, they put it away and they go to another one and they work on that for a while and they can do it. I can't do it either, because when I'm writing a book those people in the book feel completely real to me. I talk to them. When I'm in the shower I do dialogue like I'm with them. I wander around the grocery store talking scenes until people think I crazy, and so I have trouble pulling myself out of that and going to another book, but some people can do it. We have time for probably two or three more questions. Yes. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. Thank you. >> What's the longest book you've ever read? >> Ellen Oh: The longest. >> Meg Medina: Read? Oh. >> Ellen Oh: "Harry Potter" which one was the middle one? No, I think maybe "War and Peace", right? >> Meg Medina: Oh my gosh. I, it had to be Leo Tolstoy. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. >> Meg Medina: It was, I don't know. "Anna Karenina" is so, the big fat ones at. >> Ellen Oh: Well, yeah Tolstoy. See? Long, long, long stories. >> Also, what's your favorite fruit? >> Ellen Oh: Favorite fruit? Cherries, but I'm allergic to them and I still eat them. I get all, and I'm like eating them still. Terrible. >> Meg Medina: Long live the peach. >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. >> If you had to choose one word how would describe how much fun you had writing the books? >> Ellen Oh: Ahh. One word? She's hard. >> Meg Medina: Yeah. >> Ellen Oh: That's a mean question, one word. Awesome. That's lame. >> Meg Medina: Yeah. You know, I feel like brotherhood. >> Ellen Oh: Brotherhood. Ah, that's a good one. >> Meg Medina: Because I felt like all of us together we're pulling together to create this beautiful thing. >> Ellen Oh: I agree. Thank you. That's a great question. Hi. >> Meg Medina: Hi. >> Hi. My question is what's your favorite "Harry Potter" character? >> Ellen Oh: Hermione. >> Meg Medina: Hermione. Come on. Hermione. You know. >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. >> Meg Medina: He's the only one who knew everything. >> Ellen Oh: One last question maybe. >> Meg Medina: Yes, this is it. Or no, two more right? There's one child, yeah. >> What was the book that inspired you to write these? >> Ellen Oh: Oh. >> Meg Medina: "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros. It was the first book that I saw Latino girl and her family in it and I read it and it thought, oh my gosh my [foreign words spoken] and my neighborhood, like it could be a book, and it was, it changed everything for me. How about you? >> Ellen Oh: Well, for me wanted to write because of "Harry Potter." Oh, I know. Like a lot of children's authors say that, but it really was to me so mind-blowing to read "Harry Potter", yeah. Thank you. We'll have one last question. >> What's the first book you ever read? >> Ellen Oh: You know, we're kind of old. >> Meg Medina: Speak for yourself sister. >> Ellen Oh: First book we read, uh. >> Meg Medina: I think I read way back, I mean really the very first things were the Dick and Jane readers. >> Ellen Oh: Oh, yeah! >> Meg Medina: Right? See Sally. Sue; See Sue. >> Ellen Oh: See Spot run. >> Meg Medina: Yes. That kind of thing. That's how they taught us reading back then. Ay, yi, yi, yi, yi. >> Ellen Oh: Three boring stories. >> Meg Medina: Yes. >> Ellen Oh: Yeah. That was it. >> Meg Medina: That was literally the first thing. >> Ellen Oh: Thank you. >> Meg Medina: Okay. >> Ellen Oh: I think we're done right? >> Meg Medina: You've been so wonderful. >> Ellen Oh: You've been wonderful. Thank you! [ Applause ] >> This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress. Visit us at loc.gov.