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S.E. Hinton

Biography

S.E. Hinton

Susan Eloise Hinton wrote her eye-opening tale of the rift between upper and lower class teens --- THE OUTSIDERS --- when she was only 15 years old. When the novel was published in 1967, the success of the groundbreaking young adult novel made Hinton into a household name at age 17. By the early 1980s, she had added four more highly-acclaimed YA novels, numerous awards, and four movie adaptations to her list of achievements, cementing her place in history as one of the most well-known and beloved YA authors of our time.

Hinton's newest project, HAWKES HARBOR, will be her first ever novel written for an adult audience. In this, her first foray into adult fiction, Hinton weaves a dark, yet often comedic tale of a young man's headfirst dive into high-stakes adventure, unthinkable horror and the resulting insanity.

In 1988 Hinton was the first author to receive the Margaret A. Edwards Young Adult Services Division/School Library Award for Life Achievement, recognizing her novels THE OUTSIDERS; THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW; RUMBLE FISH; and TEX. Today, THE OUTSIDERS is required reading in many schools and has sold over 10,000,000 copies since its first publication, giving the novel the prestigious number two ranking on Publishers Weekly's "All-Time Bestselling Children's Books" list, just below CHARLOTTE'S WEB. Additionally, all five of her novels --- THE OUTSIDERS; THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW; RUMBLE FISH; TEX and TAMING THE STAR RUNNER --- were selected by the American Library Association as Best Books for Young Adults between 1967 and 1979.

In the early 1980s, four of Hinton's novels were adapted for film. Hinton was involved with the filming of TEX, THE OUTSIDERS, and RUMBLE FISH --- all of which starred young up-and-coming actors, including Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Ralph Macchio, and Tom Cruise. Hinton even played bit parts in these films as a typing teacher, a nurse, and a prostitute. The last of Hinton's novels to be adapted for film, THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW (in 1985), starred Emilio Estevez, who also wrote the screenplay, and joined the rest of the movie adaptations as being another box office success and film classic. THE OUTSIDERS, directed by Francis Ford Coppola of The Godfather fame, even spurred a 1990 television series whose 90-minute pilot was the highest rated show in Fox's history when it aired.

In 1995, Hinton released two children's books, BIG DAVID, LITTLE DAVID and THE PUPPY SISTER.

S. E. Hinton currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her family.

S.E. Hinton