Renée Watson (born July 29, 1978) is an American teaching artist and author of children's books, best known for her award-winning and New York Times bestselling young adult novel Piecing Me Together, for which she received the John Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Josette Frank Award for fiction. Watson founded the nonprofit I, Too, Arts Collective to provide creative arts programs to the Harlem community. Watson was born in Paterson, New Jersey and grew up in northeast Portland, Oregon after her parents' divorce. Her mother's family is originally from West Virginia. Watson attended Vernon Elementary School, Binnsmead Middle School, and Jefferson High School in Portland Oregon. She was a member of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church where she recited poetry on holidays and special occasions. She loved poetry from a young age and read the work of poets like Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes. When she first read poems by Hughes in elementary school, Watson felt a strong connection to them and sense of herself, her family, and her neighbors reflected in his work. Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street was one of the formative works of her childhood. From a young age, she knew she was interested in writing and was encouraged to pursue this by her teachers and family. In middle school, she wanted to be a lawyer for a time. This was also when she wrote her first play, which her middle school produced as their spring show. While in high school she participated in a mentorship and has since returned to mentor others at her former high school. As a senior she also assisted in teaching poetry to underclassmen. Watson describes herself as a teaching artist, having spent twenty years teaching poetry and theater before becoming a novelist. She moved to New York in 2005 where she attended The New School to study creative writing and art therapy. While she was in school she published her first book. In the future she hopes to publish adult fiction and poetry books in addition to her young adult and children's books. More information...
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