Justina Chen Headley: Giving Back

Justina Chen Headley, a self-described “product of suburban America,” has seen and done much more than the average suburbanite. Not content to simply grow up, get married, and have kids—although she has done that along the way, too— Headley has traveled from coast to coast and back again, even spending a year in Australia. Fortunately for young adult literature, the “settling down” aspect of life never really kicked in for Headley. Seeing the world from diverse angles has allowed her to write with an enhanced view of its inhabitants, and to build characters and storylines from her eclectic life experiences—everything from marketing with Microsoft to swimming with the dolphins in Australia.

Meeting people from a rainbow of backgrounds and cultures also intensified Headley’s already compassionate nature, further opening her eyes and her heart, thus increasing her desire to make a difference in the world. During her 2006 book tour, the great number of school districts that simply could not afford author visits began to weigh on Headley. She was confronted head-on with the fact that young girls are being hurt by a lack of access to successful, real-life female role models. Seeing a need, Headley became determined to fill it. She developed the idea of Readergirlz, an online book club for teen girls, focusing not only on reading, but also on empowering girls with the belief that they, too, can become gutsy, successful women, living their dreams and creating their own histories. Success and happiness aren’t only for “those women;” success and happiness are obtained by those who have the guts and determination to create the reality from their dreams.

Mechele R. Dillard: You’ve had the opportunity to travel, to experience life on both U.S. coasts, and to live outside of the U.S. Do you feel this has affected how you relate to people and, if so, how?

Justina Chen Headley: Absolutely! Travel is the second-best way to open your mind to other people, other cultures, other traditions, other beliefs. The best way, of course, is to read—and to read voraciously across many genres and subjects. Of course, living abroad for that year had its ups and downs—and this in Australia when I spoke the language! There were times that I had to repeat my mantra: change is good, change is good. And it is.

MRD: You spent time in various career areas before getting serious about writing. Do you feel these experiences in other disciplines have added a depth to your writing that would not have been there otherwise?

JCH: For sure, I could not have written either Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) or my forthcoming novel, Girl Overboard, without having worked at Microsoft, in particular. First, I was able to draw experientially from working. That naming company in my debut novel? It’s real—people actually get paid to create product names! Who knew? Also, I got very good at figuring out what’s important and what could be dropped. That’s essential in writing—being able to see the big picture (what your story is about) and being able to cut the unnecessary.

MRD: You believe in giving back to the community; what do you feel the community has given to you over the years?

JCH: What people say about community service is absolutely true. You try so hard to give and give and give, and then the world gives right back to you. For seven years, I worked with a group of women called StrataGem, a pro bono consulting group that helped non-profits that aided women and children. For all the hours that we put in providing strategic direction to cancer research centers, children’s hospitals, groups that helped neglected and abused kids, charities that helped foster kids…I have to tell you. We received so much more that we gave: the knowledge that we were helping and changing lives. That’s what it’s all about.

MRD: You are a supporter of beginning writers attending writing classes. Do you think this is important for technical reasons, or is it more an opportunity for novice writers to network within the writing community?

JCH: I’d say it’s 95% technical reasons and 5% building a writing community. I hate the connotation of networking—which is about personal gain. In my classes that I’ve taken—and taught—writers have established wonderful friendships. And those are necessary during the Dark Days of writing (the rejection days, the bad writing days, etc.).

MRD: You encourage novice writers to read and write across the subgenres; are there areas you yourself have yet to tackle but hope to approach and conquer someday?

JCH: You bet! I would love to write YA fantasy and try my hand at middle grade novels. I’ve published a picture book, and think it might be fun to write another PB. But for now, my main focus is YA novels.

MRD: Readergirlz is the result of your desire to give back to the community and support the self-realization of young girls across the nation—the world, even. Why did you recruit Dia Calhoun, Janet Lee Carey, and Lorie Ann Grover as founding authors? Yes, all of these women are critically-acclaimed authors of young adult literature, but what makes these three women (and yourself) “Readergirlz Book Divas?”

JCH: First off, I loved their writing—their words absolutely humbled me. But more than that, I respected them as women with integrity and a philanthropic bent. Janet Lee Carey was my teacher at Bellevue Community College! She and I hit it off, became friends, and then she invited me to join her critique group. At a writing retreat, I got the chance to know Dia Calhoun. She revealed that she has bipolar illness, which was why she wrote Phoenix Dance. I thought it was remarkably brave of her to come out with that. And finally, Lorie Ann Grover is good friends with my own mentor and dear friend, Janet S. Wong. Any person Janet Wong deems exceptional is someone I want to know.

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Justina Chen Headley’s first YA novel, Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2006) is available online or at a bookstore near you, as is her picture book for younger children, The Patch (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2006; Illustrated by Mitch Vane). Her upcoming novel, Girl Overboard, is scheduled for a 2007 release with Little, Brown Young Readers. Make sure to visit this dedicated philanthropist-author’s Web site at www.justinachenheadley.com, and absolutely don’t forget to drop by the Readergirlz site, where Headley’s Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) is the current Book of the Month selection.

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