Brent Hartinger

BIO

Brent Hartinger has been writing books for fifteen years, but didn't sell any of them until the summer of 2001. Since then, he has sold nine novels. Seven are aimed at teenagers and adults, including: GEOGRAPHY CLUB (HarperCollins, 2003); THE LAST CHANCE TEXACO (HarperCollins, Feburary 2004); a sequel to GEOGRAPHY CLUB called THE ORDER OF THE POISON OAK (HarperCollins, February 2005); and GRAND & HUMBLE (HarperCollins 2006). Two more of Mr. Hartinger's books are fantasy novels aimed at readers ten and older: DREAMQUEST (Tor Books, 2006) and THE FIFTH SEASON (Tor Books, 2007).

Mr. Hartinger's book honors include being named a Book Sense 76 Pick (twice), a IRA Notable Book, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, a Booklist Top Ten First Young Adult Novel, a ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, winner of the SCBWI/Judy Blume Grant for a Contemporary Young Adult Novel, and an InsightOut (Bookspan) Book Club Main Selection.

Mr Hartinger has contributed stories or essays to many current or upcoming anthologies, including RUSH HOUR edited by Michael Cart (Random House); and YOUNG WARRIORS edited by Tamora Pierce and Josepha Sherman (Random House).

Also a playwright, Mr. Hartinger has seen his work produced at theaters across the country, including Off-Off Broadway at Wings Theatre in New York. His play version of his novel GEOGRAPHY CLUB premiered at Seattle's FringeACT Festival of New Plays in 2004.

As a screenwriter, Mr. Hartinger has won many awards, including the $5000 Fort Lauderdale Film Festival Screenwriting in the Sun Award. He has several scripts under option and in the process of studio or network development.

Mr. Hartinger lives south of Seattle with another novelist, Michael Jensen, his partner since 1992. He has counseled dozens of teenagers, both as co-facilitator of Oasis, a 200-member gay teen support organization he helped found, and as a counselor at a group home for troubled young people.

He is currently spearheading The Real Story, an online and print safer sex campaign aimed at gay male teens and twentysomethings, which involves characters from GEOGRAPHY CLUB and other popular teen novels; the project will debut in 2005.

Mr. Hartinger speaks frequently on the subjects of writing, social tolerance, and personal motivation, at schools, bookstores, conferences, churches, and civic groups; he appeared at 60 such events last year.

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INTERVIEW

April 12, 2005

Teenreads.com contributing writer Carlie Webber interviews Brent Hartinger, author of THE ORDER OF THE POISON OAK, the sequel to his 2003 bestseller GEOGRAPHY CLUB. Hartinger, who frequently meets with students at their schools, describes readers' reactions to these two books and points out the similarities between himself and some of his characters. He offers valuable advice to aspiring writers and talks about the safer sex project in which he and two other authors are currently engaged.

Teenreads.com: Russel Middlebrook, from GEOGRAPHY CLUB and ORDER OF THE POISON OAK, is a great character. He's self-deprecating yet funny, and a very loyal friend. Is he based on anyone you know?

Brent Hartinger: Ha! Nope. Invented him completely out of thin air.

The truth is, Russel isn't me exactly. But he thinks like me, acts like me, and looks like me (or at least he looks like I looked in high school). I tried hard to make Russel likeable, which basically means he has all of my good qualities and none of my bad ones. If you like Russel, you'll probably like me. If you don't like Russel, you definitely won't like me (and I probably won't like you!).

TRC: As you finished GEOGRAPHY CLUB, did you immediately know there would be a sequel. If not, what spurred you to write one?

BH: Well, I definitely PLANNED on writing a sequel, I just wasn't sure that HarperCollins would publish it! Right before GEOGRAPHY CLUB was released, I mentioned to my editor that I wanted to write a sequel. He sort of smiled and said, "Well, let's wait and see how GEOGRAPHY CLUB does, okay?" I guess I didn't understand that publishers only publish sequels to SUCCESSFUL books! Fortunately, the book was a big fat hit, and HarperCollins ended up being very eager for the sequel.

TRC: Will we see these characters again?

BH: Oh, God, yes! I'm milking this cash cow till she dies of dehydration.

Seriously, I love writing about these characters, fans respond to them, so I'm very happy to explore more of their lives. The plan right now is for there to be at least two more sequels, released at the same time (hopefully, February 2007). The two books will tell the same storyline from both Russel's POV and Min's POV. Same timeline, but completely different stories. Sort of a RASHOMON for teens.

Anyway, now I have to write the damn things. Wish me luck.

TRC: Otto, from ORDER OF THE POISON OAK, is a songwriter. Are you musical? Do you write songs?

BH: Well, I write songs, but I don't know if I'm musical. As a musician, I'm a great novelist.

The song that Otto sings in THE ORDER OF THE POISON OAK? It was originally supposed to be "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks, but she wouldn't sell us the right to use the lyrics (she doesn't let anyone use them). So I replaced them with "I Believe in Love" by the Dixie Chicks. HarperCollins paid them a ton of money, and things were all set to go. Then last December, two months before pub date, I got a panicky call from my publisher; there had been a snafuu, and we couldn't use the Dixie Chicks song after all. So I sat down and wrote a song for Otto to sing called "Is it Okay if I Need You Tonight?" And yeah, I wrote the music too (the music and complete lyrics will be in the paperback edition). And it's funny because I'm now really glad that I was forced to write a whole new song, because I think my lyrics tell us a lot more about Otto than either of those other two songs did.

If I get the nerve, I may start singing the song at my readings. But like I said, as a musician, I'm a great novelist.

TRC: Do you have any of the same likes and/or dislikes as your characters?

BH: I do sort of pick and choose from my sensibilities. For example, I'm a health nut, like Gunnar. I love Wiz-War, the game that Min and Russel play at the beginning of GEOGRAPHY CLUB. And like Russel's dad, I am a huge fan of the comic strip "Peanuts" (at least, circa 1962-1974, when Schultz was in his heyday). If one of my characters is passionate about something, it's a good bet that I am too.

TRC: What websites and/or books do you recommend for teens who think they might be gay?

BH: Well, I wouldn't recommend just typing "gay teen" into google, that's for sure. It's like what Dr. Zaius says to Charlton Heston at the end of Planet of the Apes: you may not like what you find!

There are no other good books for gay teens except mine (kidding! Try GLTBQ: THE SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR QUEER AND QUESTIONING TEENS).

As for websites, the best one for finding local resources, like teen support groups, is www.queeramerica.com. For school issues, like information on starting a GSA, definitely www.glsen.org. For issues with parents, www.pflag.org is good.

There are also two gay teen help-lines you can call for, well, help: 1-800-96YOUTH or 1-800-850-8078

TRC: What have you heard from readers about GEOGRAPHY CLUB and ORDER OF THE POISON OAK?

BH: Oh, man, it's absolutely overwhelming. Every single day I get at least several emails and letters --- at least 20 a week. And it is so humbling. I mean, people REALLY relate to these characters and these stories. I am so touched and grateful that people take the time to write to me. It just never gets old.

For the record, I hear from everyone --- old, young, gay, straight, bisexual, male, female. I think that's what I like best about the reaction to these books --- that they seem to have "universal" appeal.

TRC: Share with us a bit about what happens when you meet with students at their schools. If students would like you to do a school event at their school, what can they do?

BH: Well, more than anything, I try to be entertaining. In fact, I have a "money back guarantee" for all my bookstore events. If you come and see me, and afterwards tell me to my face that you thought I was boring, I'll give you a dollar. Seriously. Try it and see.

At schools, I talk about different things, but most often I tell the story of how I came to be a published writer, also known as MY JOURNEY THROUGH HELL. It really has to be heard to be believed. I have some funny props and gags that people seem to get a kick out of.

Oh, and for the record, I'm not Norma Rae holding up the banner for gay rights. I'll talk about that if asked (and some kid always does ask, which is cool). But I'll also respect the wishes of the sponsoring librarian. Sometimes it's easier for librarians to invite me to talk about THE LAST CHANCE TEXACO, which is my non-gay book from last year (now in paperback, by the way). I figure, whatever it takes to get me in the door.

For local visits (Puget Sound area), contact me directly: brentsbrain@harbornet.com. For anything further away than that, contact my representative at HarperCollins, Cara Gavejian, at cara.gavejian@harpercollins.com (212) 261-6644.

TRC: Tell us a little about the safer sex project involving the characters from GEOGRAPHY CLUB that you're currently engaged in.

BH: I've worked in AIDS education for years, and I'm always looking for fun, hip, entertaining ways to get the word out about safer sex, especially to gay and bisexual teens and twentysomethings, who are at the highest risk of catching HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Well, I saw that people were really relating to the characters in my books, so I figured why not do a project where the characters from books learn about safer sex? I called up my buddies Alex Sanchez, who wrote RAINBOW BOYS, and David Levithan, who wrote BOY MEETS BOY, and asked if they wanted to help, and they did. So we all wrote short stories about the various aspects of safer sex. What is AIDS? How do you catch it? How do you avoid catching it? How do you put what you know about safer sex into practice?

I gotta say, it's been hell getting a sponsor. These days, so many people are absolutely terrified of anything to do with sex, even if it's basic health information. So gay teenagers and twentysomethings, who are at such high risk of infection, are being given NO information about sexual safety, or they're being given incorrect information, like, "Condoms don't work." Personally, I find that immoral. So sponsor or not, Alex, David and I are just going to publish the website ourselves. It's called THE REAL STORY, and hopefully it will be out later this year.

For the record, safer sex is so much more than just, "Use a condom." It's a whole way of thinking.

TRC: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

BH: Well, whatever you do, don't read other books. Never! Not even one.

Sorry, I don't really believe that, but when asked for advice, writers always say, "Read!" and so I wanted to be contrary. Reading is actually good advice, and so is joining a critique group, for both writing and emotional support. But I think it's also important to learn everything you can about the BUSINESS of writing. Work at a library, bookstore, or publisher. Learn what people like to read, and why. Get to know the world of books, because no matter what you think of the business of publishing, it's the world you have to live in if you want to be a published writer.

If you don't love to read, please don't even consider becoming a writer. The world has too many aspiring writers as it is.

TRC: In addition to writing novels, you have a passion for writing plays. How many of your plays have you seen performed onstage? Which is your favorite and why?

BH: I've had eight plays produced in various theaters around the country. My favorite play is definitely my latest, which is my stage version of GEOGRAPHY CLUB. We had a reading last year here in Seattle, and it was so wonderful to see talented actors bring the characters of Russel and Min and Kevin and Gunnar to life. And I'm saying that's my favorite because it's the truth --- not just because I'm currently out trying to drum up productions for the play!

TRC: What are you working on now, and when can readers expect to see it?

BH: I have two books out next year. One is GRAND & HUMBLE, a psychological thriller about a popular kid and a geek, and the secret of why their lives are mysteriously intertwined, even if they don't know it. It's got a great twist ending. And I'll also have a children's fantasy out called DREAMQUEST, about a 12-year-old girl plagued by nightmares, who wakes up one night in Slumberia, the magical wonderland inside her own brain where they "film" her nightly dreams.

If people have other questions (or want a copy of the play-script for GEOGRAPHY CLUB!), feel free to contact me via email: brentsbrain@harbornet.com. Or better still, visit "Brent's Brain," my website, at www.brenthartinger.com.

Oh, and thanks!

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