7 Comments
Feb 10, 2023Liked by Hurley Winkler

I was a big Konigsburg fan as a kid, too; she was up there for me with Daniel Pinkwater and Diana Wynne Jones. (I was too old to be hoodwinked by Rowling's borrowed magic.) To this day, I think A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver is the only historical fiction I've truly loved.

Expand full comment

I grew up in Florida, lived in Jax for three years, and was today years old when I learned this about E.L. Konigsburg. 🤯 That must have been so inspiring to meet her! Love it.

Expand full comment

One of my childhood faves, too — so cool that you got to meet her!

Expand full comment

I love this so much. I had no idea authors were real people until I was way too old. Like, in my 20s I knew they were real, but I thought they were FANCY, you know? Then I put my kid in preschool and found out that one of the teachers' mom was Ellen Conford, my FAVORITE middle grade author when I was 12. It was honestly one of the most pivotal moments of my life. It wasn't until that moment that I truly realized authors were regular people. I wish I'd known when I was 11! (I have so many memories of the time after reading Mixed Up Files and wondering if *I* could sneak into the Met and live there for a bit. I grew up in Northern New Jersey and so it seemed entirely possible.)

Expand full comment

This was my favorite childhood book! I love knowing this backstory-- this made my day. I, too, love the idea of her getting so lost in writing her stories that she has the ability to ignore all the ringing phones.

Expand full comment

what a great way to start my friday! I’m a big “there are many cool things about Jax” advocate and the Konigsburg story just added to that 🙌🏽

Expand full comment