BIO

Christopher Paul Curtis was born in Flint, Michigan, and spent 13 years after high school on the assembly line of Flint’s historic Fisher Body Plant #1, and wrote during his breaks. He went to college part-time and graduated from the University of Michigan. His first novel, THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM - 1963 was both a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Author book, and his second novel, BUD, NOT BUDDY, received both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Author Award. Curtis says that his writing has been greatly influenced by his family members. He makes his home in Detroit.

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PAST Q&A - 2000

We recently caught up with Christopher Paul Curtis, author of the award-winning novel THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM -- 1963 and the recently published BUD, NOT BUDDY. He spoke with us about his family, his work and what inspires him to write. Here's what he had to say.

Kids Reads: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

Christopher Paul Curtis: I've always loved writing, but I never thought I could make a living at it. About six or seven years ago, my wife knew I was unhappy with my job and she told me that I should take time to do what I really wanted --- to write.

Kids Reads: Where do you find the ideas for your books?

Christopher Paul Curtis: The idea for THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM --- 1963 came from a trip I took with my own family several years ago. We were driving from Michigan to Florida and I wanted to do it in 24 hours. I just said "I'm not stopping!" To keep myself awake, I started thinking about this family [who later became the Weird Watsons of Flint].

Once I got back home from the Florida trip, I wrote a story about the Watsons driving to Florida. But once I got the characters to Florida, the story just kind of died. I got some fresh inspiration when my son brought home a school assignment to read the poem "The Ballad of Birmingham" by Dudley Randall, about the church bombing in that city during the civil rights movement. After that I knew the Watsons wanted to go to Birmingham instead.

Writers have to have really good ears and really good eyes. Ideas come from everywhere --- sometimes from everyday conversations. They start really small and they grow, like planting a seed.

Kids Reads: Have you used experiences from your own life in your novels?

Christopher Paul Curtis: Yes. For me it's an important part of writing. I think it makes your writing more immediate and more believable. There's a truth in it. When you have autobiographical touches in the story it's just more interesting to read.
Kids Reads NOTE: In BUD, NOT BUDDY, you'll find a really terrific afterword (with photos) from the author about his real-life grandfathers --- orchestra leader Herman F. Curtis, Sr., and railroad redcap and Negro League pitcher Earl "Lefty" Lewis --- who inspired the characters in the book.

Kids Reads: Both of your books are set in the past. What kind of research did you do before writing them?

Christopher Paul Curtis: For THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM, I relied on my memories. I was around Kenny's age in 1963 and I had an idea of what was going on then and how people were feeling. But my first-ever trip south was the drive to Florida.

The setting for BUD, NOT BUDDY was well before I was born. I did research on how kids spoke then, what life was like during the Depression. I read tons of old books, magazines and newspapers in the library.

Each different era has a feel to it and you just have to find it. I try to imagine what other people's lives were like. It's been fun to imagine what my grandparents were like back then. When I was a kid, I didn't want to listen to their stories, which is a shame.

I have a riot when I write. I laugh. If I knew it was this much fun, I would have started when I was four. I love it.

Kids Reads: What is a typical day like for you?

Christopher Paul Curtis: I've been writing full-time since about 1996. On a typical day I wake up at 5 AM (I worked in a factory for 13 years and can't break the habit!). I edit and do rewriting for awhile. I go to the library at 9 AM and do some new writing (I write everything out longhand first). Then I go play basketball and work out for an hour or so. After that I head home to meet my daughter Cydney (who's in 3rd grade) after school, and I help around the house.

My son isn't at home anymore; he's in the Navy now, but he was the first person to read my drafts of THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM and he was very helpful. It's hard to find someone to give your stuff to. He typed a lot while I was working on the book. Cydney has been a big help, too. She even wrote one of the songs I used in BUD, NOT BUDDY.

Kids Reads: What are you working on now?

Christopher Paul Curtis: I'm working on two books right now, both for Delacorte. One is a contemporary novel for older kids. It's about a 15-year-old boy from Flint whose mother owns a bunch of rental properties.

The other book (for 8- to 10-year-olds) is called MR. CHICKY'S FUNNY MONEY, about a kid who gets an unusual gift --- a quadrillion dollar bill.

A third book might be a sequel to BUD, NOT BUDDY, but I'm not sure yet.

Kids Reads: Do you enjoy going out to meet the kids who read your books?

Christopher Paul Curtis: I did a book tour in November and December (1999) that included 40 presentations to schools in Houston, so I'm kind of traveled out right now. But it's important to get out and meet the kids. It's helpful on a personal level. It keeps you in touch, lets you see what they are thinking and feeling.

Kids Reads: What kind of advice do you like to give about writing?

Christopher Paul Curtis: Writing is not magical; it's not mystical. Keep it fun. You're in control --- you create people and places, you're like a little god when you write. Like anything else in life, if you're serious about it, do it everyday. Stay in practice. At first it seems hard, but your mind is so fantastic, it learns how to make it easier. And remember that when you write about your family, what you know, it just has more truth --- it sounds believable.

   --- Shannon Maughan

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