This morning I attended a lecture and mini workshop at my local library, led by YA author Siobhan Vivian.  In a little room with paintings of princesses and castles on the walls, and a giant dragon on the floor, Vivian spoke to an audience mainly of teens and young readers (though there was one little boy who wandered in, intrigued by the projector 🙂 ).

Vivian is the author of three teen novels – A Little Friendly Advice, Same Difference, and Not That Kind of Girl.  She has also worked as a script intern for Sesame Street; as a production assistant for cartoons like Tutenstein and Braceface; as an assistant to the VP of the Disney Channel; and as an editor for Alloy Entertainment, the company that produces books like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Gossip Girl.

Vivian discovered her passion for writing after taking a high-school creative writing elective.  She then got a BFA in Writing for Film and Television from The University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, and after working in Hollywood for a while, moved back to New York to receive an MFA in Creative Writing: Children’s Literature from The New School University.

After receiving several offers for her first book, A Little Friendly Advice, Vivian chose Scholastic for her publisher – partly because she loved the Harry Potter series and “loved the idea of sharing a [publishing] house with J. K. Rowling.”

As a full-time author, Vivian follows the common-sense mantra:  write something every day – 1000 words/day in her case.  She also reads newspapers to find story ideas (Not That Kind of Girl was sparked by an article about a real high-school incident).

Her next novel, according to Publishers Weekly, will be a collaboration with author Jenny Han.  Burn for Burn will be the first installment of a trilogy, and is set to come out in the fall of 2012.

More information about Vivian and her books may be found at her website.