My copy, fresh from the library shelves.
I love middle grade fiction for its variety; different settings, times, and genres offer numerous opportunities in story. Young characters are given plenty of space to play, and that’s what twelve-year-old Olympia and her friends do in 1981 SoHo. Laura Tucker’s All the Greys on Greene Street envisions a not-too-distant past where kids had free reign of New York City. Ollie’s world is surrounded by art: her mom is a sculptor, her father restores paintings, and the city is alive with murals, museums, and everyday artists. But when Ollie discovers a mysterious note and her father’s disappearance in the middle of the night, she realizes her whole world is not what it seems.
All the Greys on Greene Street reminds me why I love middle grade. Tucker makes Ollie an engaging protagonist with her independence and steadfastness amidst sudden change. The setting and timeframe are another one of my favorite parts of the story; the not-too-distant-past has always interested me, and as a girl, I’d often visit my artistic family in NYC, so Greene Street was very relatable for me.
Laura Tucker is no stranger to professional writing. She worked at two top literary agencies and has written, co-written, and ghost-written more than 30 books. All the Greys on Greene Street is her middle grade novel debut, and she graciously agreed to answer some of questions on the industry and writing process.
How did you break into the children's book industry?
I had an extremely unusual and charmed process. I'm a former literary agent and a ghostwriter by trade, so I've been in and around publishing for a long time. I wrote the book in secret--it was a hobby project, and I didn't tell almost anyone about it until it was done. When I thought it was in pretty good shape, I showed it to Susanna Einstein, a literary agent and an old friend who's one of the best readers I know. She introduced me to some agents, including the amazing Faye Bender, who agreed to represent it, and who sold it to Kendra Levin, my brilliant editor, who was at Viking at the time.
I know how lucky I am that it went the way it did.
Do you have any favorite writers or influences that have impacted your writing?
So, so many! Rebecca Stead's books, including When You Reach Me, have been a huge influence--I cherish the fact that she read and liked All the Greys. I love Kate DiCamillo, Philip Pullman, Meg Rosoff; my kid was one of the Harry Potter obsessed, so I have spent a lot of time with those books and movies. I grew up with Betsy Byars, Ruth Chew, Judy Blume, Lois Lowry (Anastasia Krupnik!), Rumer Godden, Ellen Raskin. And of course, I love the classic New York kid books: From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Harriet the Spy and The Long Secret.
I didn't differentiate between books for grown-ups and books for kids when I was younger, and I still don't. I also read widely across genres. There are so many writers I read as soon as they have a new book, and re-read: George Saunders, Margaret Atwood, Kate Atkinson, Alice Munro, Lydia Millet, Sarah Ruhl, Tessa Hadley, Mick Herron, Martha Wells, Donald Westlake, and that's off the top of my head--if I look at my shelves or the list of the books I've read, I'll never stop.
I'm prone to rabbit holes. When I was writing All the Greys, I saw art at least once a week, and read a lot of memoir by artists, along with histories of the scene in SoHo. Right now, I'm about to have my first garden ever, so I'm reading a lot of beautiful nonfiction about the natural world. Many of them are month-by-month because gardening tasks are so seasonal--it's a lovely structure.
I love memoir for the details, poetry for the language, mystery for plot and atmosphere, graphic novels for the art, science-fiction and fantasy for the world-building. . . .
All the Greys on Greene Street is set in 1981 New York City, where artists live in SoHo lofts and children roam free. What inspired the setting and story behind this middle grade novel?
Laura’s workspace: The poem “I want a President” is by the artist Zoe Leonard. The Immaculate Heart College art department rules are by Sister Corita Kent. The diamond cutter’s sutra excerpt is by the textile artist Ines Sun. The NY is Book Country poster is by Ian Falconer. The postcard is a self portrait by David Wojnarowicz. Image courtesy of Laura Tucker.
I was a New York City kid; I married a New York City kid, and raised a New York City kid. So I wanted to write a book about city kids. I also wanted to write a book about an artist growing up in a place where being an artist was completely understood and supported--normal.
While SoHo is different now than it was in my main character Olympia's time (there's a lot of high-end shopping there now,) there are still echoes of its history as a place where artists could find cheap places to work and to live (often illegally.) The lofts themselves--huge, industrial, flooded with natural light--influenced the work artists made there. And there was so much cross-pollination--dancers collaborating with sculptors and fashion designers, painters making portraits of friends who happened to be poets and playwrights. Artistically, it was a really exciting place to be in the seventies and early eighties.
Do you have a specific place set aside for writing?
Not really. Have laptop, can work pretty much anywhere. I do like my office, but often end up on the couch.
What advice would you give to aspiring children's book writers?
I can only say what helps me! I read a lot, widely and weirdly. I write a lot, and throw a lot of it out. I edit compulsively, in a way that would seem insane if you were tracking the keystrokes. And I was very lucky to find a group of writers who gave me careful, generous, thoughtful feedback, even while I was learning a lot from reading their own works-in-progress.
For news on Laura Tucker’s current and upcoming books, visit her on her website and read All the Greys on Greene Street.