In my critical work for an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University, I investigated the question of how writers use storytelling to metabolize pain for their characters, their readers and themselves. As part of my inquiry, I began interviewing writers for children on this topic. Read on for the wise words of these courageous and talented creators.

CLICK HERE to read YA & children’s book author Elana K. Arnold’s thoughts on the Alchemy of Pain.

Her latest young adult novel, The Blood Years, won the Sydney Taylor and National Jewish Book Awards. Author of twenty-one books for children of all ages, Arnold has been a National Book Award finalist and Printz Honoree, and her chapter book, A Boy Called Bat, is a Global Read Aloud Selection.

CLICK HERE to read award-winning author Swati Avasthi’s thoughts on the Alchemy of Pain.

Author of the graphic novel Chasing Shadows and young adult novel Split, Avasthi’s writing has received numerous honors including a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, the Thomas H. Shevlin Fellowship, Loft’s Mentor Series Award, and a nomination for the Pushcart Prize. She teaches creative writing in the Hamline University MFA Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

CLICK HERE to read author Coe Booth’s thoughts on the Alchemy of Pain.

Faculty member at Hamline’s MFA Program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, Booth is the prolific author of the YA and middle grade books Tyrell, Kendra, Bronxwood, Kinda Like Brothers and most recently, Caprice, an astonishing novel about a girl overcoming the secrets and abuse of her past (Junior Library Guild), which received multiple starred reviews.