Author Spotlight: Chris Crutcher

Chris Crutcher has been working with kids and writing about them for a really long time. He has been a teacher, school principal, a child and family therapist, and of course a writer, since the 1970's.

Most of the time his fiction has two common elements. Dudes with issues and sports. His main characters have had to deal with anger, abuse, racism, dying young and whole range of other seemingly impossible situations. Sports helps most of them deal with their issues.The stories are intense page turners that don't pull punches when talking about tough issues or portraying teenagers just like they are. But most of his writing has an element of humor as well.

In an interview with School Library Journal, Crutcher was asked why he writes about teenagers. His answer was:

"Adolescence is often the first time people see that they have some influence over their world.... And that's a natural place to tell the story because, in my own memory, the heat was really turned up then. One of the reasons I write about older teenagers is that they're on the edge of having to live their lives themselves. Those initial decisions they make are really important. In my history I was lied to about what came next. I heard too many fairy tales" (SLJ, 2000)

Crutcher is also a tireless champion in fighting against censorship, often speaking out about the issue.

His new book Period 8 is coming out at the end of March. In the meantime, here is a list of titles we currently have in the LRC.

Novels

F Crutcher,C Angry management : three novellas.
F Crutcher,C Chinese handcuffs.
F Crutcher,C The crazy horse electric game.
F Crutcher,C Deadline.
F Crutcher,C Ironman
F Crutcher,C Running loose.
F Crutcher,C The sledding hill.
F Crutcher,C Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes.
F Crutcher,C Stotan!
F Crutcher,C Whale talk.

Non-fiction

 B Crutcher,C  King of the mild frontier : an ill-advised autobiography.

Short Stories

F Crutcher,C   Athletic shorts : six short stories.

SC Connections    Connections : short stories by outstanding writers for young adults.  

SC Dirty    Dirty laundry : stories about family secrets.  

SC On   On the fringe.  

SC Owning     Owning it : stories about teens with disabilities.  

SC Sports Pages     The sports pages.  

SC Time  Time capsule : short stories about teenagers throughout the twentieth century.  

SC Ultimate    Ultimate sports : short stories by outstanding writers for young adults.