John Donovan (writer)
John Donovan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1928 Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | April 29, 1992 (aged 63–64) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Writing career | |
| Genres | Young adult literature, drama |
| Notable work | I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip |
| Website | johndonovanauthor |
John Donovan (1928 – April 29, 1992) was an American writer of young adult literature.[1] He is best known for his 1969 novel I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip, the first known young adult novel to directly address the subject of homosexuality.[2]
Early life
Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Donovan was educated at the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia.[1] He worked for the copyright office of the Library of Congress before briefly joining St. Martin's Press.[1]
Career
Donovan published his first work as a writer, The Little Orange Book, in 1961.[3]
In 1967, he became executive director of the Children's Book Council,[1] a position he held until his death.[3] In this position, he actively advocated for literature that addressed real life issues faced by children and teenagers.[3]
I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip was named, in 2021, as one of Time magazine's "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time."[4]
Donovan's later children's and young adult books included Wild in the World, Good Old James and Family.[1] He also wrote two short plays, Damn You, Scarlett O'Hara and All My Pretty Ones, which were published in 1963 and staged off-Broadway in 1964 under the collective title Riverside Drive.[1] The play's staging at New York City's Theatre de Lys starred Sylvia Sidney and Donald Woods.[3]
Personal life
Donovan's longtime partner was Stan Raiff, a theatre producer.[2] The couple lived in Manhattan.[1]
Donovan died on April 29, 1992, of cancer.[1] His niece Stacey Donovan, also a published author known for the novel Dive,[5] was the executor of his estate, and was involved in the 2010 republication of I'll Get There.[2]
I'll Get There was the subject of an essay by Martin Wilson in the 2010 book The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered.[6]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "John Donovan, 63; Wrote Books and Plays". The New York Times. 1992-05-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2009-06-13. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- 1 2 3 Rumaan Alam, Worth the Trip. Los Angeles Review of Books, September 23, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 "It's Worth The Trip: A Journey Through John Donovan's I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth The Trip". Google Sites.
- ↑ "'I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best YA Books". Time. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ↑ "Donovan Books - Donovan Edits". Donovan Edits.
- ↑ "The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered Edited by Tom Cardamone". The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, May 4, 2013.
- 1928 births
- 1992 deaths
- 20th-century American novelists
- 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
- American writers of young adult literature
- 20th-century American male dramatists and playwrights
- American LGBTQ novelists
- American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights
- American gay writers
- LGBTQ people from Massachusetts
- Gay novelists
- Gay dramatists and playwrights
- Writers from Lynn, Massachusetts
- Novelists from Massachusetts
- Writers from New York City
- University of Virginia alumni
- 20th-century American male novelists
- Novelists from New York (state)
- 20th-century American LGBTQ people
- Dramatists and playwrights from Massachusetts