S. E. Hinton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Susan Eloise Hinton (1948-07-22)July 22, 1948 (age 77) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Tulsa |
| Period | 1967–present |
| Genre | Young-adult novels,children's books,screenplays[1][2] |
| Notable awards | Margaret Edwards Award 1988 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Jim Inhofe (cousin-in-law) |
| Website | |
| www | |
Susan Eloise Hinton (born July 22, 1948) is an American writer best known for heryoung-adult novels (YA) set inOklahoma, especiallyThe Outsiders (1967), which she wrote duringhigh school.[a] Hinton is credited with introducing the YA genre.[4][5] She graduated from theUniversity of Tulsa.[6]
In 1988, she received the inauguralMargaret Edwards Award from theAmerican Library Association for her cumulative contribution in writing for teens.[7][b]
Susan Eloise Hinton was born on July 22, 1948 inTulsa, Oklahoma. Her father, Grady, was a door-to-door salesman and her mother, Lillian, was a factory worker.[8][9] Lillian was physically and emotionally abusive, throwing one of Hinton's early manuscripts in a trash burner (though she allowed her to rescue them); and Hinton described Grady as "an extremely cold man."[9]
Growing up, she and her family attended a "fundamentalist, hellfire and brimstone" church, which she disliked deeply and turned her away from religion as an adult.[9] Grady developed a brain tumor when Hinton was 15 and died when she was in her junior year of high school.[9][10]
While still in her teens,[a] Hinton wroteThe Outsiders, her first and most popular novel, set in Oklahoma in the 1960s. She began writing it in 1965.[11] The book was inspired by two rival gangs at her school,Will Rogers High School,[12] theGreasers and theSocs,[3] and her desire to empathize with the Greasers by writing from their point of view.[c] She wrote the novel when she was 16 and it was published in 1967.[14] Since then, the book has sold more than 14 million copies.[12] In 2017,Viking Press stated the book sells over 500,000 copies a year.[3]
Hinton's publisher suggested she use her initials instead of her femininegiven names so that the first[15] malebook reviewers would not dismiss the novel because its author was female.[11][d] After the success ofThe Outsiders, Hinton chose to continue writing and publishing using her initials because she did not want to lose what she had made famous[e] and to allow her to keep her private and public lives separate.[f]
In 1971, Hinton released her second book,That Was Then, This Is Now, acoming-of-age story following two close friends, Byron and Mark, whose friendship is tested when the two of them are exposed to the world ofdrug dealing.[16] Her third book,Rumble Fish, followed in 1975. It is about high-schooler Rusty-James, whose admiration for his older brother leads to jealousy and heartbreak.[17] Her fourth young adult novel,Tex, was published in 1979 and follows reckless teenager Tex and his difficult family life.[18]Taming the Star Runner, her final young adult novel, was published in 1988 and is the only one of her YA novels that has not been made into a film.[19]
By 1982, her four novels had sold over 10 million copies.[20]
In the 1990s, Hinton began writing children's books. She published thepicture bookBig David, Little David in 1995.[21] It was followed later that year withThe Puppy Sister, a children'snovella about a family's pet dog turning into a human.[22]
In 2004, Hinton released her first adult novel,Hawkes Harbor. Unlike her previous books, Hawkes Harbor contains strong language and sexual situations.[23] Her second adult novel,Some of Tim's Stories, was published in 2007.[24]
Hinton continues to write and has tried new styles of writing,[25] includingscreenwriting.[26]
In interviews, Hinton has said that she is a private person and anintrovert who no longer does public appearances.[27] She enjoys reading (Jane Austen,Mary Renault, andF. Scott Fitzgerald),[11] taking classes at the local university, and horseback riding (she has shown indressage andjumping).[28] Hinton also revealed toVulture that she enjoys writingfan fiction.[29]
In 1970, Hinton married David E. Inhofe, asoftware engineer she met in her freshman biology class at college.[26][30] He is a cousin of former Oklahoma SenatorJim Inhofe.[31] Following the success ofThe Outsiders, Hinton developedwriter's block and grew depressed, and Inhofe encouraged her to keep writing by making her write two pages a day, which led to the eventual completion ofThat Was Then, This Is Now. Their only child, Nicholas David, was born in August 1983 in Tulsa, where Hinton and her husband reside.[28][10]
Thefilm adaptationsThe Outsiders (March 1983) andRumble Fish (October 1983) were both directed byFrancis Ford Coppola; Hinton cowrote the script forRumble Fish with Coppola. Also adapted to film wereTex (July 1982), directed byTim Hunter, andThat Was Then... This Is Now (November 1985), directed byChristopher Cain. Hinton herself acted as alocation scout, and she hadcameo roles in three of the four films. She plays a nurse in Dallas's hospital room inThe Outsiders. InTex, she is the typing teacher. She also appears as a sex worker propositioning Rusty James inRumble Fish. In 2009, Hinton portrayed the school principal inThe Legend of Billy Fail.[32]
In 1992, she was inducted intoPhi Beta Kappa by theUniversity of Tulsa,[33] and in 1998 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame at the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers ofOklahoma State University–Tulsa.[34]
| Year | Organization | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | New York Herald Tribune | Best Teenage Books List | The Outsiders | Won | [35] |
| Chicago Tribune Book World | Spring Book Festival Honor Book | Won | |||
| 1971 | That Was Then, This Is Now | Won | [36] | ||
| American Library Association | Best Book for Young Adults | Won | |||
| 1975 | The Outsiders | Won | [35] | ||
| Rumble Fish | Won | [17] | |||
| Media and Methods | Maxi Award | The Outsiders | Won | ||
| School Library Journal | Best Books of the Year | Rumble Fish | Won | ||
| 1978 | Massachusetts Children's Book Award | N/a | That Was Then, This Is Now | Won | [36] |
| 1979 | American Library Association | Best Books for Young Adults | Tex | Won | [18] |
| Taming the Star Runner | Won | [37] | |||
| Massachusetts Children's Book Award | N/a | The Outsiders | Won | [35] | |
| School Library Journal | Best Books of the Year | Taming the Star Runner | Won | [37] | |
| Tex | Won | [18] | |||
| 1980 | New York Public Library | Books for the Teen-Age | Won | ||
| Taming the Star Runner | Won | [37] | |||
| 1981 | American Book Awards | N/a | Nominated | [37] | |
| N/a | Tex | Nominated | [18] | ||
| 1982 | California Young Reader Medal | N/a | Taming the Star Runner | Nominated | [37] |
| N/a | Tex | Nominated | [18] | ||
| New Mexico Library Association | Land of the Enchantment Award | Rumble Fish | Won | [17] | |
| Louisiana Association of School Librarians | Sue Hefly Honor Book | Taming the Star Runner | Won | [37] | |
| 1983 | Sue Hefly Award | Won | |||
| Tex | Won | [18] | |||
| 1988 | American Library Association | Margaret A. Edwards Award | The Outsiders,That Was Then, This Is Now,Rumble Fish,Tex | Won | [38] |
| 1995 | Parent's Choice | Silver Honor Book | The Puppy Sister | Won | [22] |
The five YA novels, her first books published, are Hinton's works most widely held in WorldCat libraries.[39] All are set in Oklahoma, and take place within ashared universe.
