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A video interview with

Kate DiCamillo

Kate DiCamillo

At first glance, it may appear that Kate DiCamillo waltzed onto the children's book scene and experienced nothing but success. Her first published novel, Because of Winn-Dixie, won a Newbery Honor in 2001. That book became a Hollywood film. In 2004 DiCamillo's book, The Tale of Despereaux, received the coveted Newbery Medal.

But Kate DiCamillo's success did not happen overnight. For roughly a decade, before the public knew her name, DiCamillo worked odd jobs, submitted manuscripts, and collected nearly 400 rejection letters. "I decided a long time ago," DiCamillo says, "that I didn't have to be talented. I just had to be persistent."

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

View online

  • From novels to picture books (:44)

    In this video clip, Kate DiCamillo gives an overview of the books she's written

  • An outsider (1:38)

    For many years, DiCamillo struggled through odd jobs to support her writing. In retrospect, all of those experiences helped her view the world from an author's point of view.

  • Persistence (1:22)

    Surprisingly, DiCamillo credits her success not to talent, but to persistence.

  • The Newbery call (1:04)

    DiCamillo recalls the day that her life changed forever.

  • Because of Winn-Dixie (1:57)

    Kate DiCamillo talks about why she wrote this book and why her visit to the movie set was so emotional.

  • Great Joy (1:00)

    Kate DiCamillo describes how writing her first picture book was profoundly different than writing a novel.

  • A love-hate relationship (1:02)

    Writing doesn't come easily to Kate DiCamillo, but it's what she is meant to be doing.

  • Reading aloud and modeling (1:00)

    Here are some thoughts on how parents and teachers can encourage children to read.

  • Advice for young writers (1:06)

    Here is some free advice from a Newbery-Medal-winning author.

‡ 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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