Brigit Young

Brigit Young is the author of the middle grade novels WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, THE PRETTIEST, and BRIGHT. She was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she got through many a cold winter by reading all the books on her house's shelves. Brigit has published poetry and short fiction in dozens of literary journals and taught creative writing to kids of all ages. Her debut middle grade novel, WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, was a 2019 Bankstreet Best Book for Ages 12-14 and a Junior Library Guild selection. Her sophomore book, THE PRETTIEST, was listed on Seventeen Magazine's 45 Books You Can't Put Down, and NBC News's "Celebrating Every Body: 9 Books to Help Young Girls Build a Positive Image." In 2022, BRIGHT was listed as a best book of the year by Bankstreet with the distinction of Outstanding Merit. Brigit lives in New Jersey with her husband, daughters, and gecko. She spends her non-writing time learning the ukulele, planting as many dahlias as she can, and watching British mysteries. Q&A 1) What books most inspired you or impacted you as a kid? I probably read ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY by Mildred Taylor and THE GIVER by Lois Lowry about twenty times each. They have wildly different settings, tones, and messages, but they both hit the reader with emotional authenticity through fully fleshed-out, living, breathing characters. 2) You write for kids. What were you like as a kid? When I was in elementary school, I wore a tattered, red cape every day for all of fourth grade. I was obsessed with Shakespeare and I would stand on the picnic tables at recess and spout lines from ROMEO & JULIET. I loved to play intricate imaginary games with my friends. And I had a LOT of trouble listening when it was time to sit down and learn. The word "weird" got thrown my way quite a lot... And my self-esteem regarding academics? Not good. By middle school, I found academics harder and harder - at least the stuff with numbers. I loved literature and writing, but I was still never great at turning in my homework. But by that point, I'd discovered a deep love for theater, and all my community theater friends gave me a safe space to be myself and have some more confidence. Later on in life I discovered I have ADHD, and that probably had a lot to do with how hard it was to study, even when I could sit down and memorize a whole script! I always want kids to know that they may not be "perfect" or ace every aspect of school and life, but that doesn't make them any less capable of a fantastic life! Go after your dreams. You may be called weird (who cares? Weird people are the most fun.) or struggle in math class, but you can still achieve your big dreams. 3) Why did you become a writer? After going into the acting biz for a while, I discovered that I wasn't really meant for it. I didn't want to stand in front of a crowd and, like... feel things. Out loud. But I still loved stories, so I let all those artistic rumblings inside of me come out in storytelling. I wrote poems and stories and went back to college (I'd gone to an acting conservatory in my early life, not a college), and eventually my stories turned into novels, and those novels were always about the lives of kids. Not only is that time of my life quite vivid for me, I also remember that the books I read at that age formed me in a way nothing else did - so children's literature was my path. Kids are my favorite writers and readers. 4) What job would you want if you weren't a writer? Well, I would love to be a children's librarian. But if I moved totally away from book world, I would want to research orca whales! Or be a horticulturalist and build massive flower farms! Or be the person who thinks of names for new Crayola crayons! 5) If someone made a movie of your life, who would play you? We would have to CGI Emma Thompson to look whatever age I was at the moment because she is my queen. And Taylor Swift, Fiona Apple, and Lauryn Hill would collaborate to do the soundtrack!