Elana Kuczynski Arnold is an American children's and young adult author. Her 2017 novel What Girls Are Made Of was a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award for Young People's Literature,[1][2] and her 2018 novel Damsel was named a Michael L. Printz Award Honor title in 2019.[3][4]
Elana K. Arnold | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | American |
| Website | |
| elanakarnold | |
In 2022, three of Arnold's books (Damsel, Red Hood, and What Girls Are Made Of ) were listed among 52 novels banned by the Alpine School District following the implementation of Utah H.B. 374, “Sensitive Materials In Schools."[5]
Biography
Arnold obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Literature from University of California, Irvine.[6] In 1998, she Master of Arts degree in English and Creative Writing from the University of California, Davis.[7][6]
Arnold now teaches with Hamline University's Master of Fine Arts program focusing on Writing for Children and Young Adults.[8]
She lives in Southern California.[8]
Awards and honors
Nine of Arnold's book are Junior Library Guild selections: A Boy Called Bat (2017),[9] Bat and the Waiting Game (2018),[10] Damsel (2018),[11] Bat at the End of Everything (2019),[12] The House That Wasn't There (2021),[13] Red Hood (2021),[14] Starla Jean (2021),[15] and Just Harriet (2022).[16]
In 2021, Publishers Weekly named Red Hood one of the top ten young adult novels of the year.[14]
| Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Infaduous | Moonbeam Children's Book Award for Young Adult Fiction - General | Winner | [17] |
| 2016 | Amelia Bloomer Book List | Selection | [18] | |
| Westchester Fiction Award | Winner | [19] | ||
| 2017 | What Girls Are Made Of | California Book Award | Finalist | [8] |
| National Book Award for Young People's Literature | Finalist | [8] | ||
| 2018 | Amelia Bloomer Book List | Selection | [20] | |
| Damsel | Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth | Selection | [21] | |
| 2019 | Amelia Bloomer Book List | Top 10 | [22][23] | |
| Michael L. Printz Award | Honor | [3][4] | ||
| 2021 | Red Hood | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | Selection | [24] |
| Amelia Bloomer Book List | Top 10 | [25] | ||
Publications
Young adult novels
- Sacred (2012)
- Burning (2013)
- Splendor (2013)
- Infandous (2015)
- What Girls Are Made Of (2017)
- Damsel (2018)
- Red Hood (2020)
- The Blood Years (2022)
Middle grade books
- The Question of Miracles (2015)
- Far from Fair (2016)
- The House That Wasn't There (2021)
- Just Harriet (2022)
A Boy Called Bat series
- A Boy Called Bat (2017)
- Bat and the Waiting Game (2018)
- Bat and the End of Everything (2019)
Starla Jean series
- Starla Jean, illustrated by A. N. Kang (2021)
- Starla Jean Takes the Cake (2022)
- Starla Jean Cracks the Case (2023)
Picture books
- What Riley Wore (2019)
- All by Himself? (2022)
- Pip and Zip (2022)
Reception
In 2024 the Republican-dominated Utah Legislature passed a law[26] mandating the removal of books deemed objectionable from all Utah public schools (including charter schools). On 2 August 2024 the Utah State School Board released its first list of banned books. Elana K. Arnold's young adult novel What Girls Are Made Of was on this list.[27]
References
External links
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