John Donovan (writer)
John Donovan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1928 Lynn, Massachusetts |
| Died | April 29, 1992 New York City |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Young adult literature, drama |
| Notable works | I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip |
| Website | |
| johndonovanauthor | |
John Donovan (1928 - April 29, 1992) was an American writer of young adult literature.[1] He is best known for his 1969 novel I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip, the first known young adult novel to directly address the subject of homosexuality.[2]
Early life
[edit]Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Donovan was educated at the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia.[1] He worked for the copyright office of the Library of Congress before briefly joining St. Martin's Press.[1]
Career
[edit]Donovan published his first work as a writer, The Little Orange Book, in 1961.[3]
In 1967, he became executive director of the Children's Book Council,[1] a position he held until his death.[3] In this position, he actively advocated for literature that addressed real life issues faced by children and teenagers.[3]
I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip was named, in 2021, as one of Time magazine's "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time."[4]
Donovan's later children's and young adult books included Wild in the World, Good Old James and Family.[1] He also wrote two short plays, Damn You, Scarlett O'Hara and All My Pretty Ones, which were published in 1963 and staged off-Broadway in 1964 under the collective title Riverside Drive.[1] The play's staging at New York City's Theatre de Lys starred Sylvia Sidney and Donald Woods.[3]
Personal life
[edit]Donovan's longtime partner was Stan Raiff, a theatre producer.[2] The couple lived in Manhattan.[1]
Donovan died on April 29, 1992, of cancer.[1] His niece Stacey Donovan, also a published author, was the executor of his estate, and was involved in the 2010 republication of I'll Get There.[2]
I'll Get There was the subject of an essay by Martin Wilson in the 2010 book The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h "John Donovan, 63; Wrote Books and Plays". The New York Times. 1992-05-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2009-06-13. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- ^ a b c Rumaan Alam, Worth the Trip. Los Angeles Review of Books, September 23, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "It's Worth The Trip: A Journey Through John Donovan's I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth The Trip". Google Sites.
- ^ "'I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best YA Books". Time. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ "The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered Edited by Tom Cardamone". The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, May 4, 2013.
- 1928 births
- 1992 deaths
- 20th-century American novelists
- 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
- American writers of young adult literature
- American male novelists
- American male dramatists and playwrights
- American LGBTQ novelists
- American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights
- American gay writers
- LGBTQ people from Massachusetts
- Gay novelists
- Gay dramatists and playwrights
- Writers from Lynn, Massachusetts
- Novelists from Massachusetts
- Writers from New York City
- University of Virginia alumni
- 20th-century American male writers
- Novelists from New York (state)
- 20th-century American LGBTQ people