Those are not my words, but the headline writer of The Melbourne Age, the biggest newspaper in Australia’s second biggest city. Eep. A bit blush-making.
The article, by the excellent Mike Shuttleworth of the Centre for Youth Literature, is a result of So Yesterday winning the Victorian Premier’s Award down there. It’s a great big article in the A section, with a big-ole photo of me in my, ahem, coolest T-shirt:
Jennifer Soo
Yes, that’s me looking off into the future of literature. Or maybe flexing my imagination, or thinking, “Hope I don’t look like a wanker.”
I’m always exceedingly nervous about any picture of me appearing that I don’t have TOTAL control over. Not to mention articles that quote me rattling along before breakfast on many cups of coffee. But Mike managed to make me sound smart, and Jennifer made me look (passably) cool. Much thanks to them both.
Here’s the article.
For a password, go to Bug Me Not. (If you’re already a Sydney Morning Herald reader, you don’t need one.)
And it starts:
Scott Westerfeld describes his lifestyle as “bi-summeral”. For the past five years, the laconic, softly spoken Texan has moved between Sydney and New York with his partner, Australian Justine Larbalestier (herself a young-adult fiction writer). They met at the Nebula Awards in New York in 2000 (“How geeky is that?” he asks) and now they divide their time between apartments in Manhattan and Surry Hills.
Westerfeld is a writer of young adult fiction, living the perfect life for exploring the teenage cool world. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including So Yesterday, a whip-smart thriller about a New York trend-spotter and a culture-jamming scam . . .
All very blush-making.
Because you live “Bi-summeral”-ly, is it hard for you to write Winter scenes?
Congrats on the good review!
Cute!
Congrats on all the continued good news! Though I do wonder how Justine is going to live with you after this…
Congrads; Is it weird reading about yourself in a article? I don’t think I would ever be able to handle reading about myself in something that so many people read.
Hooray for you making into an newspaper article!
I was just thinking how cool the shirt was and then I read above! Haha sorry for this pointless comment.
yes i like the shirt! but it would be really wierd to see my picture in a naws paper, it wouuld be totally nervous-making. i would just about die, but that will never happen so no worries 🙂
you areso not a wanker. ‘Course I had to look that word up in an American-Australian dictionary… Congrats on all the attention. You and Justine had a great year. We joked at BBYA that the reason our list was so long was that the Australians were so good we had to make room for the American writers too! Look forward to your next trip to WI and sure hope you stop by the CCBC
You look like your thinking what your going to do with you next book.
no way you’re NOT a wanker- and i only know what that is because i went to england.
I know this is off topic but, The summary for Blue Noon is up at Amazon. It sounds good and I cant wait to read it.
I don’t like seeing pictures of myself at all. They make me nervous. Or they are nervous-making. Whatev. I’m not exactly bubbly right now.
No you do not look like a wanker. You kind of look like a member of a rock band.
SPECIALS! Sorry.
Congrats on the article. BTW, love the shirt.
At first glance, ‘bi-summeral’ was read as ‘bi-samurai’.
No, I don’t know either. But it sounds cool.
I just stumbled across Hunter at my office.
Near the bottom of the article, this nearly made me fall out of my chair: