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A video interview with

Christopher Paul Curtis

Christopher Paul Curtis did not become a published author until he was in his 40's. Before his first novel was published, he spent much of his adult life working in an automobile factory. Work at the factory became so unbearable that Curtis began having semi-hallucinations at night of car doors and assembly lines moving through his bedroom. Fortunately, Curtis' fate changed dramatically when his first two novels received some of the most prestigious awards in all of children's literature.

Click on the links below‡ to watch this interview online. You can also read the interview transcript or a short biography of Christopher Paul Curtis, or see a selected list of his children's books.

View online

Writing in the Rust Belt (1:23)
Find out how Christopher Paul Curtis began his writing career while working on the assembly line.
A look inside the factory (2:29)
In this video clip, Curtis describes the physical and psychological challenges of working in an automobile factory for 13 years.
Rejection (1:08)
Luckily for Christopher Paul Curtis and his readers, his first manuscript was accepted.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963 (:44)
Find out how this one book dramatically altered its author's life.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963 (part 2) (1:12)
Discover how the author's expectations didn't always match his reality.
Along for the ride (1:27)
Christopher Paul Curtis doesn't outline his plots in advance. He sits down and writes to find out what's going to happen.
Four rules for young writers (1:39)
Here are some free tips from a successful Newbery-winning author.
Mr. Chickee's Funny Money (1:15)
Have you ever seen a quadrillion dollar bill with a picture of James Brown on the front?
Elijah of Buxton (2:58)
In this video clip, Christopher Paul Curtis talks about the setting and creative process for his most recent novel.

‡ This video clip will appear in Windows Media Player, which most computers already have installed, or you can download it now. Macintosh users can download the free Flip4Mac playback file, which allows you to play Windows Media files in your Quicktime player.

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