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Francesca Lia Block

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Francesca Lia Block
Born (1962-12-03) December 3, 1962 (age 61)
Los Angeles, California, US
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Period1989–present
Notable awardsMargaret Edwards Award
2005
Children2[1]

Francesca Lia Block (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and young-adult literature. She wrote the Weetzie Bat series,[2] which she began while a student at UC Berkeley.

Early life and education

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Block was born in Los Angeles in 1962. Her mother was a poet and her father was the screenwriter and painter Irving Block.[3] She attended North Hollywood High School[4] and the University of California, Berkeley,[5] and later studied for her MFA from the University of California at Riverside.[6]

Career

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Block writes both novels and poetry. Her first two books, Moon Harvest (1978) and Season of Green (1979), were small-press illustrated poetry collections, now out of print. Since then, she has released several standalone collections of poetry, as well as incorporating poetry and lyrics into many of her novels. She has published over 40 books.[6]

Block did not originally start out with an editor, but was published by using her connections. She attributed her success partly to publishers being interested in shorter books.[7]

In 2014, Block was named Writer-in-Residence at Pasadena City College.[8] Block is a member of the Authors Guild, Authors League of America, and the Writers Guild of America.

In 2018, it was confirmed that Weetzie Bat would be produced as a feature film, with Justin Kelly attached as director. Block wrote the screenplay for the film.[9]

Block is known for her use of imagery, especially in describing the city of Los Angeles.[10] One New York Times Book Review critic said, "Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler."[11]

Writing style and genres

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Block sees her books as being in the tradition of magical realism, and she has said that she was heavily influenced by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende,[12] as well as Emily Dickinson.[3] She has been compared to S.E. Hinton because of themes like sex, death, drugs, and broken homes that occur in her works.[3] Many of her books have been categorized as young adult fiction, but Block has also written adult fiction, non-fiction, short stories, and poetry.[13][14]

Personal life

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Block has a son and a daughter.[3][6] She lives in Los Angeles.[15]

Awards and nominations

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Bibliography

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Weetzie Bat, or Dangerous Angels series
  1. Weetzie Bat (1989) — winner of the 2009 Phoenix Award[17]
  2. Witch Baby (1991)
  3. Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys (1992)
  4. Missing Angel Juan (1993)
  5. Baby Be-Bop (1995)
  6. Necklace of Kisses (2005)
  7. Pink Smog (2012), prequel
 Omnibus editions[18]
  • Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books, volumes 1–5 (1998)
  • Beautiful Boys: Two Weetzie Bat Books, 4–5 (2004)
  • Goat Girls: Two Weetzie Bat Books, 2–3 (2004)
Standalone novels
  • Ecstasia (1993)
  • The Hanged Man (1994)
  • Primavera (1994)
  • I Was A Teenage Fairy (1998)
  • Violet and Claire (1999)
  • The Rose and the Beast (2000)
  • Echo (2001)
  • Wasteland (2003)
  • Ruby (2006)
  • Psyche In A Dress (2006)
  • Blood Roses (2008)
  • Quakeland (2008)
  • The Waters and the Wild (2009)
  • Pretty Dead (2009)
  • The Frenzy (2010)
  • House of Dolls (2010)
  • The Elementals (St. Martin's Press, 2013)
  • Love in the Time of Global Warming (2013)
  • Teen Spirit (2014)
  • The Island of Excess Love (2014)
  • Beyond the Pale Motel (2014)
  • My Miserable Life (2016), as F.L. Block
  • Lost Children (2021), audiobook

House Of Hearts (Rare Bird Books, 2022)

Collections
  • Moon Harvest: Poems (1978), poetry
  • Season of Green: Poems (1979), poetry
  • Girl Goddess #9: Nine Stories (1996), short stories
  • Nymph: Nine Erotic Stories (2003), short stories
  • Blood Roses (2008), short stories
  • How to (Un)cage a Girl (2008), poetry
  • Open Letter to Quiet Light (2009), poetry
  • Roses & Bones (2010), omnibus of Psyche in a Dress, Echo, and The Rose and the Beast
  • Fairy Tales in Electri-City (2011), poetry
  • Love Magick (2012), editor
  • Dead Girls (2019), poetry
 Non-fiction and other
  • Zine Scene: the do it yourself guide to zines (1998)
  • Guarding the Moon: A Mother's First Year (2003)
  • Wood Nymph Seeks Centaur: A Mythological Dating Guide (2009)
  • Evidence of Angels (2009), with photographer Suza Scalora
  • The Thorn Necklace: Healing Through Writing and the Creative process (2018)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Brodesser-Akner, Taffy (August 22, 2013). "Francesca Lia Block and her post-apocalyptic year". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  2. ^ Dinitia Smith (2005-05-23). "Writing Frankly, Young-Adult Author Pushes Limits". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  3. ^ a b c d Rogers, John (December 2, 2005). "Weetzie Bat is back, and grown up, as her creator confronts middle age". Foster's Daily Democrat. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  4. ^ Campbell, Patricia J. (January–February 1993). "People are talking about ... Francesca Lia Block". The Horn Book Magazine.
  5. ^ Hotaling, Debra (November 14, 1999). "The Scribe of Shangri-La". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Romanoff, Zan (May 7, 2018). "Francesca Lia Block is a Lot More than Weetzie Bat". Literary Hub. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  7. ^ "JUST WRITE: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FRANCESCA LIA BLOCK". www.loveispop.com. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  8. ^ Hillary. "Francesca Lia Block - About". www.francescaliablock.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  9. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2018-07-11). "Anya Taylor-Joy, Nick Robinson & Sasha Lane Star In 'Weetzie Bat' Film Adaptation". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  10. ^ Carolyn Kellogg (2012-03-12). "Francesca Lia Block takes her mortgage woes public". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  11. ^ Francesca Lia Block (2011-10-25). "Author Francesca Lia Block on Occupy Wall Street: Meditations in the Dark". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  12. ^ Williams, Wilda (August 1, 2005). "Q&A: Francesca Lia Block". Library Journal.
  13. ^ Pepper, Rachel (April 2003). "Francesca Lia Block (Notes from Far-Flung Places)". Curve. Avalon Media.
  14. ^ Di Marzo, Cindy (May 18, 1998). "Harper Introduces Francesca Lia Block to a Wider Audience". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  15. ^ Bolle, Sonja (July 21, 2008). "Francesca Lia Block: staying in the force field of her audience". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  16. ^ "2005 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). American Library Association (ALA).
      "Edwards Award". YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  17. ^ a b "Phoenix Award Brochure 2012"[permanent dead link‍]. Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
    See also the current homepage "Phoenix Award" Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ^ Francesca Lia Block at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
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By Francesca Lia Block
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