Growing up in Elizabeth, N.J., Judy Blume “hated the secrets that adults kept from children.” Blume, author of such beloved titles as Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, has made a career of being honest with young readers.
In June she came to Johnson Chapel to promote her newbook for adults, In the Unlikely Event. The talk was a Q&A with novelist Curtis Sittenfeld. Blume’s husband was in the audience.
Blume talked about her new book, which is built around a true event: a series of plane crashes that took place in her hometown in 1951 and 1952, when Blume was a teenager.
Among the nuggets of information Blume shared: Summer Sisters is her least autobiographical book. Even after 28 novels, writing a first draft is “torture.” As a first career, she made felt pictures for children’s bedrooms, but she became allergic to the glue. Her mother used to type her final manuscripts. And she’s still in touch with women who’ve been writing to her since they were 12-year-old fans in the 1980s. E.G.B. Blume talked about her new book, which is built around a true event: a series of plane crashes that took place in her hometown in 1951 and 1952, when Blume was a teenager.