Susan Eloise Hinton (born July 22, 1948) is an American writer best known for her

young-adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

s (YA) set in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, especially '' The Outsiders'' (1967), which she wrote during

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. Hinton is credited with introducing the YA genre. In 1988 she received the inaugural Margaret Edwards Award from the

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 ...

for her cumulative contribution in writing for teens.

Career

While still in her teens, Hinton became a household name as the author of ''The Outsiders'', her first and most popular novel, set in Oklahoma in the 1960s. She began writing it in 1965. The book was inspired by two rival gangs at her school,

Will Rogers High School Will Rogers Middle and High School, located at 3909 E. 5th Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was built by Tulsa Public Schools in 1939 using WPA workers and designed by Joseph R. Koberling, Jr. and Leon B. Senter. It was named for the humorist Will Roger ...

, the Greasers and the

Socs SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signaling proteins) refers to a family of genes involved in inhibiting the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Genes * CISH * SOCS1 * SOCS2 * SOCS3 * SOCS4 * SOCS5 * SOCS6 * SOCS7 Suppressor of cytokine signaling 7 is a pro ...

, and her desire to empathize with the Greasers by writing from their point of view. She wrote the novel when she was 16 and it was published in 1967. Since then, the book has sold more than 14 million copies. In 2017,

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

stated the book sells over 500,000 copies a year. Hinton's publisher suggested she use her initials instead of her feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

s so that the very first male book reviewers would not dismiss the novel because its author was female. After the success of ''The Outsiders'', Hinton chose to continue writing and publishing using her initials because she did not want to lose what she had made famous and to allow her to keep her private and public lives separate.

Personal life

In interviews, Hinton has stated that she is a private person and an introvert who no longer does public appearances. However, she has revealed that she enjoys reading (

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

, Mary Renault, and F. Scott Fitzgerald), taking classes at the local university, and horseback riding. Hinton also stated in an interview with ''

Vulture.com ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

'' that she enjoys writing

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...

. She resides in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, with her husband David Inhofe, a software engineer, after meeting him in her freshman biology class at college.

Adaptations

Film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

s of '' The Outsiders'' (March 1983) and ''

Rumble Fish ''Rumble Fish'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the 1975 novel ''Rumble Fish'' by S. E. Hinton, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. The film stars Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Vincent Span ...

'' (October 1983) were both directed by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

; Hinton co-wrote the script for ''Rumble Fish'' with Coppola. Also adapted to film were ''

Tex Tex may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tex (nickname), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname * Joe Tex (1933–1982), stage name of American soul singer Joseph Arrington Jr. Entertainment * ''Tex'', the Italian ...

'' (July 1982), directed by Tim Hunter, and '' That Was Then... This Is Now'' (November 1985), directed by Christopher Cain. Hinton herself acted as a location scout, and she had

cameo roles A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

in three of the four films. She plays a nurse in Dallas's hospital room in ''The Outsiders''. In ''Tex'', she is the typing teacher. She also appears as a sex worker, propositioning Rusty James in ''Rumble Fish''. In 2009, Hinton portrayed the school principal in ''The Legend of Billy Fail''.

Awards and honors

Hinton received the inaugural 1988

Margaret A. Edwards Award The Margaret A. Edwards Award is an American Library Association (ALA) literary award that annually recognizes an author and "a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". It is named after ...

from the American YA librarians, citing her first four YA novels, which had been published from 1967 to 1979 and adapted as films from 1982 to 1985. The annual award recognizes one author of books published in the U.S., and specified works "taken to heart by young adults over a period of years, providing an 'authentic voice that continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives'." The librarians noted that in reading Hinton's novels "a young adult may explore the need for independence and simultaneously the need for loyalty and belonging, the need to care for others, and the need to be cared for by them." In 1992 she was inducted into

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

by the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

, and in 1998 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame at the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers of Oklahoma State University–Tulsa.HINTON, SUSAN ELOISE (1949– )
Oklahoma Historical Society.

Works

Young adult novels

The five YA novels, her first books published, are Hinton's works most widely held in WorldCat libraries. All are set in Oklahoma. * '' The Outsiders'' (1967) * ''

That Was Then, This Is Now ''That Was Then, This Is Now'' is a coming-of age, young adult novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1971. Set in the 1960s, it follows the relationship between two brothers, Mark Jennings and Bryon Douglas, who are foster brothers, but f ...

'' (1971) * ''

'' (1975) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Taming the Star Runner'' (1988)

Children's books

* ''Big David, Little David'', illustrated by Alan Daniel (1995), picture book * '' The Puppy Sister'', illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers (1995), chapter book

Adult fiction

* ''

Hawkes Harbor ''Hawkes Harbor'' () is a 2004 novel written by S. E. Hinton. Plot summary Orphaned and illegitimate, Jamie Sommers grows up believing he has "no hope of heaven", that he is doomed to a dreadful existence. A Roman Catholic, he is deeply depress ...

'' (2004), novel * '' Some of Tim's Stories'' (2007), short stories

Autobiography

* ''Great Women Writers'', Rita Dove, S.E. Hinton, and

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

(Princeton NJ: Hacienda Productions, 1999), DVD video — autobiographical accounts by the three authors

Notes

References

External links

* * *
"Hinton, Susan Eloise"
in the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
S. E. Hinton
at

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 ...

Authorities — with 17 catalog records {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinton, S. E. 1948 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American children's writers American women novelists American young adult novelists Margaret A. Edwards Award winners Writers from Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Tulsa alumni American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Women writers of young adult literature Novelists from Oklahoma