Nina LaCour is an American author, primarily known for writing young adult literature with queer, romantic story lines. Her novel ''We Are Okay'' won the

Printz Award Printz is a surname and may refer to: People * Armegot Printz (1625–1695), Swedish noblewoman, daughter of Johan Björnsson Printz * David Printz (born 1980), Swedish ice hockey player * Gisèle Printz (born 1933), French politician * Göran P ...

in 2017.

Early life and education

LaCour was born in 1983 in and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. Her family instilled in her an appreciation for the arts and education: "her grandmother taught china painting classes; her father was a teacher and then school principal; and her mother taught high school art." She attended

Campolindo High School Campolindo High School is a public high school located in Moraga, California, United States, and is in the Acalanes Union High School District. In 2019, Campolindo was ranked 30th in California (and 239th nationally) by '' U.S. News & World Rep ...

and graduated in 2000.She received her bachelor's degree from

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

and a

master of fine arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in creative writing from

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

Career

LaCour's first novel, '' Hold Still'', was the result of her master's thesis while at Mills College. Also while there, LaCour began teaching English composition to undergraduate students. Following graduation, she taught at

Berkeley City College Berkeley City College (BCC, formerly Vista Community College) is a public community college in Berkeley, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and the Peralta Community College District. Berkeley City College is accre ...

and

Maybeck High School Maybeck High School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory high school located in Berkeley, California. History Established in 1972, Maybeck High School is named after the regional architect Bernard Maybeck (1862–1957). Bernard ...

before taking a few years off to care for her daughter. At present, LaCour teaches in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults program at

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline o ...

Personal life

LaCour currently lives in San Francisco with her wife and daughter.

Selected works

''Hold Still'' (2009)

''Hold Still'' is a young adult novel published October 20, 2009 by

Dutton Children's Books Dutton Children's Books is a US publisher of children's books and a division of the Penguin Group. It is associated with the Dutton adult division. It was previously an imprint of E.P. Dutton, prior to 1986. They have been publishing books sinc ...

. The book received the following accolades: *

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Best Books for Young Adults The American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommendation list of books presented yearly by the YALSA division (Young Adult Library Services Association Th ...

selection (2010) *

William C. Morris Award The William C. Morris YA Debut Award is an annual award given to a work of young adult literature by a "first-time author writing for teens". It is administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American ...

finalist (2010)

''Everything Leads to You'' (2014)

''Everything Leads to You'' is a young adult novel published May 15, 2014

. The book is a

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and H ...

selection and has received the following accolades: *

Goodreads Choice Award The Goodreads Choice Awards is a yearly award program, first launched on Goodreads in 2009. Winners are determined by users voting on books that Goodreads has nominated or books of their choosing, released in the given year. Most books that Good ...

for Young Adult Fiction nominee (2014) *

YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

Best Fiction for Young Adults The American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommendation list of books presented yearly by the YALSA division (Young Adult Library Services Association Th ...

(2015) *

ALA Rainbow List The ALA Rainbow List is an annual list of "books with significant gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender content, and which are aimed at youth, birth through age 18" produced by the American Library Association's (ALA's) Rainbow Project, which is r ...

(2015)

''We Are Okay'' (2017)

''We Are Okay'' is a young adult novel published February 14, 2017, by

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 ...

added the book to its "100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time" list, and ''

Bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. ...

'' named it one of the best books of the decade. ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', and ''

Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

'' named it one of the best books of the year. ''We Are Okay'' received various accolades, including the following: *

Booklist Editors' Choice Booklist Editors Choice is an annual list compiled and reviewed by Booklist's editorial staff as the best adult and youth books and videos, and audiobooks. Booklist is a publication "that has been published by the American Library Association ...

: Books for Youth (2017) *

Michael L. Printz Award The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's y ...

(2018) * American Library Association's Rainbow List Top Ten (2018)

''Watch Over Me'' (2020)

''Watch Over Me'' is a young adult novel published September 15, 2020, by

. The

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, two regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the ...

, ''

Buzzfeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

'', and ''

Kirkus ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' named it one of the best young adult books of the year. The book received various accolades, including the following: *

Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults The American Library Association's Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, formerly Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults, is a recommendation list of audiobooks presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) division. The Y ...

selection (2021) *

(2021)

Yerba Buena (2022)

''Yerba Buena'' is LaCour's first book of adult fiction. The novel has "themes of drug and sexual abuse, death, abandonment, and purposelessness" but is ultimately the story of "two star-crossed young women navigating trauma, family, and romance". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewed the book and called it a "sensory feast".

Publications

* '' Hold Still'' (2009) * ''The Disenchantments'' (2012) * '' Everything Leads to You'' (2014) * ''You Know Me Well'', with

David Levithan David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor."David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009. He has written numer ...

(2016) * '' We Are Okay'' (2017) * ''

Watch Over Me ''Watch Over Me'' is an American television series that debuted on December 6, 2006 on MyNetworkTV. Twentieth Television produced 66 episodes to air weekdays. The limited-run serial is an adaptation of Argentine series '' Resistiré''. Dayana ...

'' (2020) * ''Yerba Buena'' (2022)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:LaCour, Nina Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Writers from San Francisco American LGBT writers San Francisco State University alumni Mills College alumni Hamline University faculty