Author Blurbs: The Interview and First Draft

Often books have one or two paragraphs about the author, which are called blurbs. In fact, there are people who specialize in writing blurbs. It is a tricky job because the blurb writer wants to provide as much interesting information as possible about the author in one or two paragraphs.

For your first writing project, you will be interviewing a classmate and using your interview notes to create a blurb.

Looking at a Model of a Blurb

First we are going to look at two different blurbs for the same author, E. B. White.  What do you notice about them?

• where he worked
• when he died
• awards & honors he received
• where born
• where he went to school, graduation date
• books & essays written & how many (for children & adults)
• family
• quote

The Interview

Next you will be assigned a partner. Each of you will interview each other. Later in the year, you will be doing a larger project involving interviewing an immigrant. This is a much shorter interview, but you should be sure to listen carefully, take good notes, and allow your partner to say as much as he/she wishes in answer to each question.  Before you do yours, here is a model for you to consider: Ms. Stokien interviewing Ms. Edinger:

What is your full name and where do you live?

Monica Ruth Edinger, lives in apt. on W. side NYC nr. Columbia Univ.

Where were you born? Do you have any interesting family stories about your birth and/or early years?

born in Greensboro, NC for 6 mos., never been back, father was a professor, moved to Alabama, moved a lot

Tell me about your family.

my family were my parents from Germany, no longer alive, younger sister in Boston w/ children now in college

Tell me about any pets, hobbies, and favorite in-school and out-of-school activities.

just got a toy poodle this summer named Lucy, very involved w/ rdg. children’s lit, on Newbery Committe last yr., runner,

Tell about some of your favorite things:
books, reading, writing, used to be illustrator, puppy, sweets esp. chocolate & salty things

Is there anything else you would like to tell me?

enjoy traveling, speak German fluently, went to Peru this summer

love being at Dalton, been here 25 years!

Next up — the first draft of the blurb!  Here is the one Ms. Stokien wrote with your help:

Monica Ruth Edinger, a very interesting teacher /author  of fourth grade at the Dalton School, was born in North  Carolina.  She now lives in New York City.  In her spare time, she loves to read and write and spend time with her new toy poodle, Lucy.  Lucy sometimes goes running with Ms Edinger!  Ms. Edinger attended Barnard College near  Columbia. And then spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer  teaching  in Sierra Leone, Africa.   Ms Edinger ‘s family is from Germany  and she is fluent in German.    Besides reading and writing,  she enjoys traveling and sweets like chocolate.    “After the 25 years of teaching at Dalton,  fourth grade is still the fantastic,” Ms. Edinger says.

Now Ms. Stokien will go off to work on her final draft.  Tomorrow you will do your interviews of each other and then begin your own drafts.