YA Author Brent Hartinger to talk about writing "outsider fiction" for today's teens

WASHINGTON, August 2, 2005 What does it feel like to be a teenage male, yet have no one know that you're gay and have a secret crush on a "bad boy" member of the high school baseball team? How does suffering from a disfiguring burn as a child affect the way you relate to other kids with differences? When you finally adjust to life in a new group home, what do you do when funding problems and community opposition threaten to shut the place down?

All of those questions have piqued the interests of thousands of teen readers who've found something to relate to in the words of young adult author Brent Hartinger.

"My books tend to deal with outsiders of some sort, whether they be foster kids or gay kids or even the children of alcoholics," says Hartinger. "One of the things that has surprised me the most about my books—success is that so many different kinds of people have embraced them, for so many seemingly unlikely reasons. It turns out that a lot of people -- a lot more than I expected! -- feel different from others in some basic way, and worry what would happen if people knew the truth about them."

For our latest online Talktime Live! online book chat -- on Wednesday August 10 at 1 p.m. ET --ConnectforKids.org will connect parents, educators, librarians and teens directly with Hartinger to ask him questions about his craft and the effects his writing has had on young people.

To date, Hartinger has published three novels: Geography Club focuses on a secret high school gay-straight alliance; The Last Chance Texaco is about the lives of kids living in a financially struggling group home; and The Order of the Poison Oak explores the connections child burn survivors make with their peers. More about his work can be found at BrentHartinger.com.

Anyone interested in talking to Hartinger and sharing their questions and thoughts on books that help kids understand and cope with difficult situations are encouraged to send advance questions and comments for the author to rob@connectforkids.org. Those who can log on during the chat will also be able to submit live questions, and interact directly with the author.

Talktime Live! Book Chat is a bimonthly online discussion series. Previous Talktime Live! topics have included books for teens, recruiting and retaining foster parents, and preventing obesity.

WHAT: ConnectforKids.org Talktime Live! Book Chat online discussion

WHO: Author Brent Hartinger with Robert Capriccioso, Writer Connect for Kids

WHEN: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET

WHERE: http://www.connectforkids.org. Transcripts of the discussions are available online.

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Connect for Kids makes the best use of communications technologies, specifically the Internet, to give adults—parents, grandparents, guardians, educators, advocates, policymakers, elected officials and others—the tools and information they need to improve the lives of children, youth and families. The Connect for Kids Web site covers more than 30 topics ranging from arts to youth development, foster care to adoption, and welfare reform to oral health.