Francesca Lia Block: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|American writer (born 1963)}} | {{short description|American writer (born 1963)}} | ||
{{For|the American racing driver and daughter of Ken Block|Lia Block}} | |||
{{infobox writer <!-- for more information see Template: Infobox writer --> | {{infobox writer <!-- for more information see Template: Infobox writer --> | ||
| name = Francesca Lia Block | | name = Francesca Lia Block | ||
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'''Francesca Lia Block''' (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and [[young adult fiction|young-adult literature]]. She | '''Francesca Lia Block''' (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and [[young adult fiction|young-adult literature]]. She is best known for writing the ''[[Weetzie Bat]]'' series,<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/23/books/23bloc.html|work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2012-03-17 |date=2005-05-23 |title=Writing Frankly, Young-Adult Author Pushes Limits|author=Dinitia Smith}}</ref> which she began while a student at [[UC Berkeley]]. | ||
==Early life and education== | ==Early life and education== | ||
Block was born in Los Angeles | Block was born in Los Angeles on December 3, 1962. Her mother was the poet Gilda Block (nee Klein) and her father was the screenwriter and painter [[Irving Block]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Francesca Lia Block 1962– |encyclopedia=Children’s Literature Review |editor-last=Krstovic |editor-first=Jelena |volume=185 |publisher=Gale |year=2013 |pages=1–57}}</ref><ref name=Rogers>{{cite news |last=Rogers |first=John |date=December 2, 2005 |title=Weetzie Bat is back, and grown up, as her creator confronts middle age |url=https://www.fosters.com/story/lifestyle/2005/12/02/weetzie-bat-is-back/52584197007/ |work=Foster's Daily Democrat |access-date=September 22, 2023}}</ref> She attended [[North Hollywood High School]]<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Campbell |first=Patricia J.|date=January–February 1993 |title=People are talking about ... Francesca Lia Block |magazine=The Horn Book Magazine}}</ref> and the [[University of California, Berkeley]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Hotaling |first=Debra |date=November 14, 1999 |title=The Scribe of Shangri-La |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-nov-14-tm-33223-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=October 6, 2022}}</ref> and later studied for her MFA from the [[University of California at Riverside]].<ref name=Romanoff>{{cite web |url=https://lithub.com/francesca-lia-block-is-a-lot-more-than-weetzie-bat/ |title=Francesca Lia Block is a Lot More than Weetzie Bat |last=Romanoff |first=Zan |date=May 7, 2018 |website=Literary Hub |access-date=March 19, 2024}}</ref> | ||
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
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Block is known for her use of imagery, especially in describing the city of Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/03/francesca-lia-block-takes-mortgage-woes-public.html|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|author=Carolyn Kellogg|date=2012-03-12|accessdate=2012-03-17|title=Francesca Lia Block takes her mortgage woes public}}</ref> One ''[[The New York Times Book Review|New York Times Book Review]]'' critic said, "Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since [[Raymond Chandler]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2011/10/25/author-francesca-lia-block-on-occupy-wall-street-meditations-in-the-dark.html|publisher=[[CNBC]]|access-date=2012-03-17|title=Author Francesca Lia Block on Occupy Wall Street: Meditations in the Dark|date=2011-10-25|author=Francesca Lia Block|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927233713/http://www.cnbc.com/id/45016703/Author_Francesca_Lia_Block_on_Occupy_Wall_Street_Meditations_in_the_Dark|archive-date=2013-09-27}}</ref> | Block is known for her use of imagery, especially in describing the city of Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/03/francesca-lia-block-takes-mortgage-woes-public.html|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|author=Carolyn Kellogg|date=2012-03-12|accessdate=2012-03-17|title=Francesca Lia Block takes her mortgage woes public}}</ref> One ''[[The New York Times Book Review|New York Times Book Review]]'' critic said, "Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since [[Raymond Chandler]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2011/10/25/author-francesca-lia-block-on-occupy-wall-street-meditations-in-the-dark.html|publisher=[[CNBC]]|access-date=2012-03-17|title=Author Francesca Lia Block on Occupy Wall Street: Meditations in the Dark|date=2011-10-25|author=Francesca Lia Block|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927233713/http://www.cnbc.com/id/45016703/Author_Francesca_Lia_Block_on_Occupy_Wall_Street_Meditations_in_the_Dark|archive-date=2013-09-27}}</ref> | ||
Block has taught [[creative writing]] at the [[University of Redlands]], [[UCLA Extension]], and [[Antioch University]].<ref>{{cite web |title=About Francesca Lia Block |website=Francesca Lia Block |url=https://francescaliablock.com/about |access-date=November 17, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Francesca Lia Block |website=Antioch University |url=https://www.antioch.edu/faculty/francesca-block/ |access-date=November 17, 2025}}</ref> | |||
==Writing style and genres== | ==Writing style and genres== | ||
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*{{IMDb name|6907562}} | *{{IMDb name|6907562}} | ||
*[https://www.youtube.com/user/Superfilmgirl#grid/user/F9EFAD9B873B5D7B/ Weetzie Bat Screenplay Reading] | *[https://www.youtube.com/user/Superfilmgirl#grid/user/F9EFAD9B873B5D7B/ Weetzie Bat Screenplay Reading] | ||
*[ | *[https://savethefaeriecottage.blogspot.com/2012/03/beautiful-video-of-faerie-cottage.html Save Francesca's Faerie Cottage] | ||
*[http://lccn.loc.gov/n88020519 Francesca Lia Block] at [[Library of Congress]] Authorities — with 38 catalog records | *[http://lccn.loc.gov/n88020519 Francesca Lia Block] at [[Library of Congress]] Authorities — with 38 catalog records | ||
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[[Category:American fantasy writers]] | [[Category:American fantasy writers]] | ||
[[Category:American women short story writers]] | [[Category:American women short story writers]] | ||
[[Category:Margaret A. Edwards Award winners]] | [[Category:Margaret A. Edwards Award winners]] | ||
[[Category:Writers from Los Angeles]] | [[Category:Writers from Los Angeles]] | ||
[[Category:American women children's writers]] | [[Category:American women children's writers]] | ||
[[Category:American women science fiction and fantasy writers]] | [[Category:American women science fiction and fantasy writers]] | ||
[[Category:20th-century American women | [[Category:20th-century American women novelists]] | ||
[[Category:21st-century American women | [[Category:21st-century American women novelists]] | ||
[[Category:American women writers of young adult literature]] | [[Category:American women writers of young adult literature]] | ||
[[Category:American writers of young adult literature]] | [[Category:American writers of young adult literature]] | ||
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]] | [[Category:20th-century American short story writers]] | ||
[[Category:21st-century American short story writers]] | [[Category:21st-century American short story writers]] | ||
Latest revision as of 00:44, 18 November 2025
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Francesca Lia Block (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and young-adult literature. She is best known for writing the Weetzie Bat series,[1] which she began while a student at UC Berkeley.
Early life and education
Block was born in Los Angeles on December 3, 1962. Her mother was the poet Gilda Block (nee Klein) and her father was the screenwriter and painter Irving Block.[2][3] She attended North Hollywood High School[4] and the University of California, Berkeley,[5] and later studied for her MFA from the University of California at Riverside.[6]
Career
Block writes both novels and poetry. Her first two books, Moon Harvest (1978) and Season of Green (1979), were small-press illustrated poetry collections, now out of print. Since then, she has released several standalone collections of poetry, as well as incorporating poetry and lyrics into many of her novels. She has published over 40 books.[6]
Block did not originally start out with an editor, but was published by using her connections. She attributed her success partly to publishers being interested in shorter books.[7]
In 2014, Block was named Writer-in-Residence at Pasadena City College.[8] Block is a member of the Authors Guild, Authors League of America, and the Writers Guild of America.
In 2018, it was confirmed that Weetzie Bat would be produced as a feature film, with Justin Kelly attached as director. Block wrote the screenplay for the film.[9]
Block is known for her use of imagery, especially in describing the city of Los Angeles.[10] One New York Times Book Review critic said, "Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler."[11]
Block has taught creative writing at the University of Redlands, UCLA Extension, and Antioch University.[12][13]
Writing style and genres
Block sees her books as being in the tradition of magical realism, and she has said that she was heavily influenced by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende,[14] as well as Emily Dickinson.[3] She has been compared to S.E. Hinton because of themes like sex, death, drugs, and broken homes that occur in her works.[3] Many of her books have been categorized as young adult fiction, but Block has also written adult fiction, non-fiction, short stories, and poetry.[15][16]
Personal life
Block has a son and a daughter.[3][6] She lives in Los Angeles.[17]
Awards and nominations
- 1996: Baby Be-Bop was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Young Adult/Children's Book
- 2001: Dangerous Angels was inducted into the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Hall of Fame
- 2005: American Library Association (ALA) Margaret A. Edwards Award for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature" for the first five Weetzie Bat books.[18]
- 2009: Weetzie Bat won the Phoenix Award from the Children's Literature Association as the best English-language children's book that did not win a major award when it was originally published.[19]
Bibliography
Weetzie Bat, or Dangerous Angels series
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Omnibus editions[20]
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- Standalone novels
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- Ecstasia (1993)
- The Hanged Man (1994)
- Primavera (1994)
- I Was A Teenage Fairy (1998)
- Violet and Claire (1999)
- The Rose and the Beast (2000)
- Echo (2001)
- Wasteland (2003)
- Ruby (2006)
- Psyche In A Dress (2006)
- Blood Roses (2008)
- Quakeland (2008)
- The Waters and the Wild (2009)
- Pretty Dead (2009)
- The Frenzy (2010)
- House of Dolls (2010)
- The Elementals (St. Martin's Press, 2013)
- Love in the Time of Global Warming (2013)
- Teen Spirit (2014)
- The Island of Excess Love (2014)
- Beyond the Pale Motel (2014)
- My Miserable Life (2016), as F.L. Block
- Lost Children (2021), audiobook
House Of Hearts (Rare Bird Books, 2022)
Collections
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Non-fiction and other
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See also
References
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- ↑
"2005 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). American Library Association (ALA).
"Edwards Award". YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2013-10-10. - ↑ a b "Phoenix Award Brochure 2012"Script error: No such module "Unsubst".. Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
See also the current homepage "Phoenix Award" Template:Webarchive. - ↑ Template:Trim Template:PAGENAMEBASE at the Internet Speculative Fiction DatabaseTemplate:EditAtWikidata. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
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External links
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- Weetzie Bat Screenplay Reading
- Save Francesca's Faerie Cottage
- Francesca Lia Block at Library of Congress Authorities — with 38 catalog records
Categories:
- Pages with script errors
- 1962 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- American children's writers
- American fantasy writers
- American women short story writers
- Margaret A. Edwards Award winners
- Writers from Los Angeles
- American women children's writers
- American women science fiction and fantasy writers
- 20th-century American women novelists
- 21st-century American women novelists
- American women writers of young adult literature
- American writers of young adult literature
- 20th-century American short story writers
- 21st-century American short story writers