John Steinbeck Fellow in Creative Writing and American Fiction Prize-finalist Dallas Woodburn
Dallas Woodburn is the author of the young adult novel The Best Week That Never Happened and the linked short story collection Woman, Running Late, in a Dress. A former John Steinbeck Fellow in Creative Writing and a current San Francisco Writers Grotto Fellow, her work has been honored with the Cypress & Pine Short Fiction Award, the international Glass Woman Prize, second place in the American Fiction Prize, and four Pushcart Prize nominations. She is also the host of the popular book-lovers podcast Overflowing Bookshelves and founder of the organization Write On! Books that empowers youth through reading and writing endeavors. Dallas lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter.
What inspired you to begin writing and what was your initial journey as a writer like?
It’s funny, but looking back it’s difficult for me to remember a time before I loved to write! I learned to read at an early age, and I gobbled up books. I believe I had an advantage of sorts because my dad is a writer—I often saw him working at the kitchen table. So I was always aware that the books I read and loved didn’t just appear like magic on the shelves; someone out there, a real live breathing person, actually wrote them. I knew that was what I wanted to do, too! Like many kids, I made up stories of my own, and I was compelled to write my stories down. And I am very fortunate that my parents and teachers were incredibly encouraging of my love of writing, so I felt supported and excited from the very beginning.
I majored in Creative Writing in college at USC and then continued on to graduate school, where I earned an MFA in Fiction Writing from Purdue. Studying creative writing in school was wonderful because I had so much dedicated time to write, which is I think the best way to improve—write, write, and write some more! It was also transformative to be part of a community of writers, giving each other feedback and sharing ideas to help each other grow.
As far as the timeline of my writing journey, I completed dozens of short stories and three novel manuscripts before writing and selling The Best Week That Never Happened.
How did you get the idea for your debut YA novel The Best Week That Never Happened?
The idea for this book came differently than my ideas for previous novels and stories, because I typically begin with character: getting to know a character and letting the narrative evolve by asking what my character would do in certain situations. What is my character struggling with? What does my character want to say? For The Best Week That Never Happened, the main idea sprung up in my head out of the blue. (I won’t go too much into it here so I don’t spoil anything in the book!) The characters and story came quickly from there.
You’ve drawn inspiration from Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places, Nicola Yoon's Everything, Everything, and Gayle Forman's If I Stay. Did any other books or authors influence you along the way?
Oh, yes! Too many to list here! A couple of my all-time favorite books are To Kill a Mockingbird (I could read this book over and over again and never grow tired of it) and The Catcher in the Rye (Holden Caulfield was one of the first characters I truly fell in love with). While I don’t write much poetry, I enjoy reading it—Maya Angelou and Mary Oliver are two of my favorite poets. Recent books I have devoured are A Heart in a Body in a World by Deb Caletti; Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson; A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua; Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen; and Dangerous Alliance by Jennieke Cohen.
You have written within the Young Adult genre. What do you enjoy most about writing YA and what do you feel the genre affords writers of YA?
Our teenage years are a time period filled with such uncertainty, shifts in identity, massive growth, and trying to find one’s place in the world. These challenges are ripe for internal and external conflict—the lifeblood of stories! I am so interested in exploring the inner lives of my characters, and one’s teen years are such a liminal time period: not a child anymore, but not quite “grown up” yet either. Or, perhaps it is in your teen years that you realize that your concept of “adulthood” is in some ways an unreachable terrain—that you will never quite feel like you are in control or know what you are doing all the time.
How did you find your way to your literary agency?
I found you, Mark, through an online “pitch fest” through Savvy Authors. I had never before participated in anything like a pitch fest—whenever I queried agents it was through their website, by sending an email or, occasionally, even mailing an old-fashioned printed letter—but I figured all I had to lose was a couple hours of my time. You caught my eye because it seemed like my novel manuscript was exactly the kind of book you were looking for based on your agent statement. I spent a good hour rephrasing and honing my three-sentence pitch. Within a couple days, you emailed me expressing interest and asking to read my entire manuscript. Soon after, you called and said that you loved my book and told me in detail what you loved about it. I could tell right away that you “got” my book—and not just that one book, but my writing style as a whole. That’s when I knew you were the right agent for me.
Blackstone Audio will be releasing the audiobook version of your book. Are you excited for the audio release and what are you most looking forward to in the audiobook?
Yes, I am so excited about the audiobook version! I love listening to audiobooks and it is surreal and thrilling that my book will be released in this intimate, engrossing format. I am most looking forward to discovering how the creative team at Blackstone Audio imagines my story, and brings the words to life through the voices of my characters. In addition to writing fiction, I have also written plays, and the process of adapting a written book to an audiobook reminds me a lot of the process of taking a script for a play and adding even more life and color through the actors’ dramatic interpretations of your words.
Related to audiobooks, I recently launched a podcast! It is called Overflowing Bookshelves and I interview an author or someone in the publishing world every week. It’s been such a fun endeavor. Episodes are available at www.anchor.fm/dallas-woodburn or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.
You are the founder of Write On! Books, an organization empowering youth through reading and writing endeavors. Can you tell us more about your work with that organization?
Yes, I started my organization Write On! Books back in 2001. My aim is to help kids and teens use writing as a tool of empowerment and connection—with others, and with their own inner selves. Throughout my life, writing has opened so many doors for me and brings me such a sense of fulfillment and purpose. I want to share that with others.
Throughout my career as a writer, I have given numerous talks at schools. It’s one of my favorite parts of my job! At the beginning of my talk, I always ask the students if any of them are interested in writing. Typically, a few shy hands raise. In contrast, at the end of my talk when I ask the same question, a lot more hands raise. The students say they didn’t know that kids could be writers. I want them to see writing as a fun activity they can do simply for their own joy.
Through Write On! Books, I teach writing camps for kids and teenagers, and I also have an online guided mentorship program that lasts throughout the year. I hold holiday book drives to collect and distribute new books to underprivileged youth, and I publish poetry, fiction and nonfiction by young writers through the online literary journal Word Smorgasbord and the print book series Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today’s best youth writing. Readers can find out more about Write On! Books at www.writeonbooks.org.
What can we expect next from the writing desk of Dallas Woodburn?
I’m currently working on the first draft of my next YA novel, which is similar to The Best Week That Never Happened in that it is realistic fiction with a touch of fantasy and romance.
Might you be able to share any advice with writers that are hoping to get published?
Elizabeth Berg once told me this advice when I met her at a writers conference, and I now have it on a post-it note on my bulletin board: “First, please yourself.” Yes, it is important to get feedback from others along the way, to help you make your book the very best it can be—but at the heart of everything, I believe you must stay true to your own voice and vision for your book. Take joy in the journey of writing, not only the final stop of publication. And build a team of people around you who truly believe in you as a writer—to build you up during the inevitable low points, and celebrate alongside you during the successes!
Can you help me finish this sentence? “I love reading and writing because…”
I love reading and writing because these activities make me feel connected to others, and to my most authentic self.