Dia Calhoun, winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature, discusses fantasy, the pressures of awards, and the importance of relationships.
Dia Calhoun, winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature, brings a love of language, literature, and young adults to her critically-acclaimed works. Her life experiences and memories, such as ballet, apple and pear farming, and her own personal struggle with Bipolar Two Illness, create a rich tapestry of fantasy and understanding for her readers. Relationships and the building—or rebuilding—of today’s interpersonal connections are an important focus for Calhoun in her role as a founding author of Readergirlz, an online community where girls can go to not only create dreams, but find the courage to realize them, as well. Calhoun discussed this, and more, in an interview with Teen Fiction at Suite101.com.
Mechele R. Dillard: You were preparing for a philosophy midterm at Mills College when you stumbled across your young adult literature calling. What were you majoring in at Mills College before this awakening? Did your time at MC become more meaningful to you after your eyes were opened to YAL?
Dia Calhoun: I was majoring in English and Book Arts (fine press printing) at the time I realized children’s literature was my calling. I immediately took the one writing for children class that the college offered. In my other writing classes, I submitted YA stories. Mills College now has a wonderful track in YA writing, though it didn’t when I was there. I basically continued on with my majors, reading children’s literature on the side.
MRD: Even after graduating with a double-major in English and Book Arts, you did not immediately begin writing full-time. Rather, you built a successful career as a lettering and logo artist. How did you settle on this original career path? Were you working on your writing skills during this period? When did the pull to YAL become too powerful to ignore?
DC: My experience in Book Arts led me to choose a career in graphic design. I knew I couldn’t support myself by writing and had to have a way to earn money. Plus I love everything to do with typography. For the first few years while I was establishing myself as a freelancer, I had little time to write. When I finally had some breathing room, and had bought my first computer, I began writing for an hour every morning before I went to work. That’s how I wrote my first YA novel, FIREGOLD, over the course of five years.
MRD: You won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature for Aria of the Sea (Winslow Press, 2000); an ALA Best Book for Young Adults for Firegold (Winslow Press, 1999), Aria of the Sea, and White Midnight (Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2003); and The Phoenix Dance (Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2005) was named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. Is it ever overwhelming for you when you consider the great success you’ve had thus far? Do you feel pressure from your previous success when you begin a new project?
DC: I try hard not to think about it at all. The only book that exists for me is the one I’m writing now. I’m not writing for awards or for sales but for my joy in writing. If I begin to worry about whether the book will be successful, all that joy goes away. Then I might as well be selling watches in the mall. Also, I have no control over awards or sales, only over the words on the page. So that is where I put my heart and soul.
MRD: “Fantasy” and “science fiction” are sometimes used interchangeably, especially by those who are not true fans of either genre. Will you explain the difference to our readers?
DC: There have been dissertations written on this. But to put it simply, fantasy usually requires an element of magic and has a timeless quality. Science Fiction is more based on science, usually involves technology, and can be futuristic. I remember hearing somewhere that if it’s a story about dragons, it’s fantasy. But if the dragons have been created genetically in the laboratory, it’s science fiction.
MRD: You are a readergirlz diva. What was your initial reaction when Justina Chen Headley approached you about developing her readergirlz idea?
DC: I was flattered and excited—and a bit apprehensive about the amount of work involved. But I thought to myself, if Justina Chen Headley is involved in this, I have to get involved, too. I admire her so much. She is so brilliant. Working with her has been such an honor.
MRD: Daring girls to not only dream but to also succeed is a challenge for the readergirlz divas as well as the readergirlz. Why is taking time from your already full schedule to work with teenage girls so important to you?
DC: I want to give something back to all the readers who have supported my books. Also, I can imagine what a thrill something like readergirlz would have been for me when I was a teenager. I was a huge bookworm. I would have been so overjoyed to have the chance to communicate with an author online and ask her questions.
MRD: The Readergirlz Manifesta states that, “Readergirlz is about reading great books to get to know yourself, your friends, and yes, even your mother, better.” Do you feel that the breakdown of the mother-daughter relationship is more common in today’s society than in previous generations? Why do you believe this particular relationship is so important in the life and ultimate success of teenage girls?
DC: I feel a breakdown in all relationships is more common in today’s society than in previous generations. Anything that we can do to help forge community will help. Readergirlz is another positive, empowering community for girls to turn to. Girls are really talking to each other about important issues on our MySpace Group site. It’s amazing! Mothers can read the readergirlz book-of-the-month with their daughters and get involved, too. A positive mother-daughter relationship is one of the most critical relationships for girls to have because a girl learns so much from her mother about how to be a successful woman. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t had my mother’s support. She always encouraged my dreams. Picked me up when I was down. She still does.
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Dia Calhoun’s novels are readily available online or at a bookstore near you. Learn more about this gifted author and her novels--including her current release, the 9/11-inspired Avielle of Rhia (Marshall Cavendish, 2006) and the upcoming The Return of Light: A Christmas Tale (Marshall Cavendish, Fall 2007)--on her personal Web site, www.diacalhoun.com. And, don’t forget to check out the Readergirlz: The divas are waiting for YOU!
