Uglies

Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld - In his own words...

I’m the author of five science fiction novels for adults. I’ve also been an occasional ghost writer, which is like driving someone else’s car really, really fast for lots of money. (I could tell you what famous authors I ghost-wrote for, but then I’d have to kill you.) In my artsy days, I wrote music for artsy downtown New York dancers, some of which sounds like this.

I have written three sets of books for young adults. The first is called Midnighters, a tale of five teenagers born on the stroke of midnight, for whom time freezes every night, revealing a dark and terrible hidden world. All three books are out now.

My other trilogy is Uglies, set in a future where cosmetic surgery is compulsory when you turn 16, making everyone beautiful. Of course, there are some people who want to keep their own faces . . . but they’re not allowed. All three books—Uglies, Pretties and Specials—are out now. A companion novel to the trilogy, Extras, came out in October 2007.

My third set of books is three stand-alone novels from Razorbill, all set in contemporary New York. The first is So Yesterday, about a cool hunter who runs afoul of a plot to end consumerism. The second is called Peeps, a "vampire" novel. The third is The Last Days, set in the same world as Peeps, which is also out now.

I was born in Texas, and split my time between New York City and Sydney, Australia. (I have more frequent flyer miles than you do.) You can read many personal details of my life on my blog.

Scott Facts

Born: May 5, 1963
Dallas, Texas, USA

Family: Pamela, mother, from West, Texas
Lloyd, father, from Crawford, Texas (the same town where George W. Bush bought his fake ranch in 2000)
Wendy and Jackie, sisters (both older)

Married writer Justine Larbalestier in 2001.
No kids; no plans for kids.

We split our time between Sydney, Australia and New York City. (Summers only, thank you.)

Grew up in Texas, California, Connecticut
My dad was a computer programmer in the 1960s-70s, when computers were as big as a house and came with a bunch of people to make them do stuff. He worked for Univac in its various forms, and we lived in Houston for the Apollo missions, in California for Boeing, and Connecticut for submarines, etc.

Education: Arts Magnet High School, Dallas, Texas
Vassar Philosophy BA in 1985
New York University, graduate work in Performance Studies 1987-8

Favourites
Writer: Samuel R. Delany
Book: I don’t know, okay? There are millions of them, you know.
But as a kid: Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Movie: Not as many as books, but I still don’t know. I think these kinds of questions are silly.

Jobs held
factory worker (making lead soldiers!)
substitute teacher
textbook editor
software designer
ghostwriter

Six Interesting Facts
1. I just bought a telescope (80mm primary)
2. I am a vegetarian (for family reasons, mostly)
3. My book So Yesterday has been translated into Slovene.
4. Languages studied: Japanese, Spanish, and Latin. Languages fluent in: English.
5. Justine and I are bisummeral, moving between the hemispheres to avoid the deadly scourge of winter.
6. I never wear jeans. Never!

Sports
Basketball—we have season tickets to the WNBA’s Liberty, second row
Cricket—newly discovered in Australia
Tennis—played semi-competently, but not often enough

Food
Mexican and Thai are my favourite
Italian is also quite excellent
Tetsuya’s is my favourite restaurant in Sydney, indeed, in the world
Otto is my current fave in NYC
Favourite meal: breakfast
Breakfast places of note
Sydney: Hopscotch, Single Origin
Dunedin: Bean Scene
New York: La Palapa, Counter
San Miguel de Allende: Nirvana


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