Book Wrangler

December 19, 2005

By Bob Patterson  

There was a report on the TV recently (the BBC news half hour on PBS?) about the British author of an advice book for kids on how to cope when parents get a divorce.  The author, Libby Rees, was reported to be nine years old.

The Guardian newspaper reported that Libby is ten.

That, in turn, sparked some vague memories of an item that the Guinness Book of Records lists a younger person as the youngest published author of a book.

As this column was being fact-checked, we learned from the aforementioned Guardian story that the youngest girl to win a publishing contract was a four-year-old girl in Washington, who wrote How The World Began, which was published in 1964.

Françoise Sagan was reported to be nineteen-years-old when Bonjour Tristesse was first published in 1954.

Thomas Chatterton achieved great literary success in poetry at a very young age.

Which brings up the question of who is the youngest member of the Writers Guild?

That, in turn, brings up the question of who is the youngest member of the Independent Writers of Southern California?

Literary success at a young age is wonderful (of course) but some of the readers of this weekly feature of Just Above Sunset (JAS) online magazine might need an older person to serve as role model and/or inspirational success story.  At which point we can only take our hats off and spend a moment of silence in honor of Charles Bukowski.  If he doesn't inspire the older "would be" male writers, then no one will.

No matter what your age is, hopefully if you don't have a publishing deal under your Holiday Tree this year, you will next year.

Since W. C. Fields died on Christmas, 1946, we are tempted to run the (alleged) quote that was variously reported to be about the founding of an orphanage, or an act of altruism for a young newspaper boy, but we won't.

A Fields quote we can use is this one - "I like my films to influence the audience. Even if it means tripping their aged grandparents with a cane when they get home."

Now, if the disk jockey will play Jimmy Boyd's song I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, we'll take our leave.  Have a great Christmas.

Copyright © 2005 - Robert Patterson

Email the author at worldslaziestjournalist@yahoo.com