Janet McDonald

Janet McDonald
Born	August 10, 1953 Brooklyn, United States
Died	April 11, 2007 (aged 53) Paris, France
Occupation	Attorney, Author
Genre	Young adult fiction, Memoir

Janet McDonald (August 10, 1953 – April 11, 2007)^[1] was an American writer of young adult novels as well as the author of Project Girl, a memoir about her early life in the Brooklyn projects and struggle to achieve an Ivy League education. Her best known children's book is Spellbound, which tells the story of a teenaged mother who wins a spelling competition and a college scholarship. The book was named as the American Library Association's Best Book for Young Adults in 2002.^[2]

In addition to books, McDonald also wrote articles for publications such as Slate, including one in which she paid psychic Sylvia Browne $700 for a telephone reading.^[3] McDonald was a member of Mensa, the high IQ society.^[4][5]

Biography

After graduating from Vassar (1977), Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (1984), and New York University Law School (1986),^[6] McDonald practiced law in New York City (1986–89) and Seattle (1989–91).^[7] She took a position as an intern at a Paris law firm (1991–93) before moving to Olympia, Washington, to work in the Attorney General's office and teach French language classes at Evergreen State College.^[8] McDonald settled in Paris in 1995 to work first as an international attorney and then as a writer, until she died of cancer in 2007.^[9]

Bibliography

Books

• — (1999). Project Girl. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-23757-3. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
• — (2003). Spellbound. New York, N.Y., U.S.A: Puffin Books. ISBN 0-14-250193-X. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
• — (2003). Twists and Turns. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-40006-7. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
• — (2004). Brother Hood. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-30995-7. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
• — (2006). Chill Wind. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 0-374-41183-2. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
• — (2006). Harlem Hustle. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 0-374-37184-9. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
• — (2007). Off-Color. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 0-374-37196-2. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
• — (2004). Skin Deep (Anthology) "Zebra Girl". Puffin Books. ISBN 978-0141315058. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
• — (2011). Paris Was Ours (Anthology) "Just Another American". Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. ISBN 978-1-56512-953-5. Retrieved July 12, 2014.

Articles

• "Up the Down Staircase: Where Snoop and Shakespeare Meet". Horn Book Magazine. 81 (6): 747–750. November–December 2005. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
• "X-Patriate". Literary Review. 47 (1): 58–62. Fall 2003.
• "Double Life". Literary Review. 45 (4): 679–685. Summer 2002.
• "Educating Janet". Teacher Magazine. 10 (4): 46–52. January 1999.
• "Booklist Interview". Booklist. 98 (12): 1026. February 15, 2002.
• "A Sister in Paris". Essence. 25 (1): 54. May 1994.
• "Crystal bawl". Slate. January 8, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
• "Black like (white) me". Slate. August 24, 1998. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
• "A dime bag for the schoolgirl". Slate. February 4, 1999. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
• "Project Girls". The Village Voice. January 16, 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2014.

Quotes

• "Freedom is ... not about nothing left to lose, it's about nothing left to be; you don't have to be anything."^[10]
• "Paris is where I became possible. It's where I became free."^[4]

References

1. Ross-Stroud, Catherine (2009). Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl. Scarecrow Press. p. 1.
2. "2002 Best Books for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
3. "Articles by Janet McDonald". Slate. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
4. Powers, Retha (May 1, 2007). "Janet McDonald 1953-2007: make some noise for the Project Girl". Black Issues Book Review. The Free Library. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
5. Project Girl, p. 183, 1st edn.
6. "Janet McDonald (1953-)", jrank.org.
7. Ross-Stroud (2009). Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl. pp. xi–xii.
8. Ross-Stroud (2009). Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl. pp. xii.
9. Ross-Stroud (2009). Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl. pp. xii–xiii.
10. Americans in Paris, a 2000 episode of This American Life, featuring McDonald.

Further reading

• Catherine Ross-Stroud. "Urban Hip-Hop Fiction: Janet McDonald", Tarshia Stanley (ed.), Encyclopedia of Hip-Hop Literature, Greenwood Press, 2008.

External links

• Slate. Various articles by McDonald, 1998–2003
• "Americans in Paris", This American Life, 2000 (extended radio interview with McDonald, beginning at 41.05)
• "Remembering Janet McDonald", Entrée to Black Paris, 2011
• Thomas E. Kennedy, "The Wind Blew It Away", The Literary Explorer, 2001
• Catherine Ross-Stroud, "A Talk with Janet McDonald", The ALAN Review, Fall 2009
• Jennifer Williams, "Twists and Turns", HipMama, 2003
• C-Span Book Discussion Janet McDonald discusses Project Girl, 1999
• Susie Linfield, "Caught in Life's Harsh Extremes", L.A. Times Book Review, 1999
• Julia Browne, "Janet's Own Rhythm", Spirit of Black Paris, 2007
• Reading Eagle "From Projects to Paris" Associated Press, 1999
• The Birmingham Post (England) "Letter from Paris", 1999
• Memorial Page by Janet McDonald's Family, Forever Missed.
• Sheryl McCarthy, "Talking With Janet McDonald / I Will Survive", Newsday, 2000
• Lisa J. Curtis"Tales From the Hood", Go Brooklyn, 2004
• Thomas E. Kennedy, "You Don’t Remember Me, But I Remember You - For Janet McDonald", Serving House Journal, 2011