John Donovan (1928 - April 29, 1992) was an American writer of young adult literature. He is best known for his 1969 novel '' I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip'', the first known young adult novel to directly address the subject of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

.Rumaan Alam
''Worth the Trip''
''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...

'', September 23, 2014.

Early life

Born in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

, Donovan was educated at the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...

and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. He worked for the copyright office of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

before briefly joining

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

Career

Donovan published his first work as a writer, ''The Little Orange Book'', in 1961."It's Worth The Trip: A Journey Through John Donovan's I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth The Trip"
Google Sites. In 1967, he became executive director of the Children's Book Council, a position he held until his death. In this position, he actively advocated for literature that addressed real life issues faced by children and teenagers. ''I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip'' was named, in 2021, as one of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine's "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time." Donovan's later children's and young adult books included ''Wild in the World'', ''Good Old James'' and ''Family''. He also wrote two short plays, ''Damn You, Scarlett O'Hara'' and ''All My Pretty Ones'', which were published in 1963 and staged

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in 1964 under the collective title ''Riverside Drive''. The play's staging at New York City's Theatre de Lys starred

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen and film actress whose career spanned over 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Aca ...

and Donald Woods.

Personal life

Donovan's longtime partner was Stan Raiff, a theatre producer. The couple lived in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Donovan died on April 29, 1992, of cancer. His niece Stacey Donovan, also a published author, was the executor of his estate, and was involved in the 2010 republication of ''I'll Get There''. ''I'll Get There'' was the subject of an essay by Martin Wilson in the 2010 book '' The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered''."The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered Edited by Tom Cardamone". ''

The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide ''The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide'' (formerly ''The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review'') is a bimonthly, nationally distributed magazine of history, culture, and politics for LGBT people and their allies who are interested in the gamut of social, ...

'', May 4, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, John 1928 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American writers of young adult literature American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights American LGBT novelists American LGBT dramatists and playwrights LGBT people from Massachusetts American gay writers Writers from Lynn, Massachusetts Novelists from Massachusetts Writers from New York City University of Virginia alumni 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American LGBT people