Christina Soontornvat
Christina Soontornvat (Thai: คริสติน่า สุนทรวัฒน์; born 1980) is an American author, educator, and mechanical engineer. She won two Newbery Honors in 2021 for the children's books A Wish in the Dark and All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team (fiction and nonfiction, respectively), and another Newbery Honor in 2023 for the middle grade novel "The Last Mapmaker".
Christina Soontornvat | |
|---|---|
Soontornvat at the 2023 Texas Book Festival | |
| Born | 1980 (age 43–44) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Education | Trinity University (BS) University of Texas at Austin (MS) |
| Period | 2016–present |
| Genre | Children's and young adult fiction |
| Website | |
| soontornvat | |
Early life and education edit
Soontornvat was born in 1980,[1] a daughter of Amnaj Soontornvat, a businessowner from Thailand and granddaughter of Thai broadcasting executive Saengchai Sunthornwat.[2][3] She attended Weatherford High School in Weatherford, Texas, graduating in 1998.[4] She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Trinity University in 2002,[5] and a Master of Science degree in science education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007.[6]
Career edit
Prior to her literary career, Soontornvat worked at a science museum.[4]
In 2020, Soontornvat wrote the children's books A Wish in the Dark and All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team.[7][8] In an interview, she stated that All Thirteen, which describes the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, was told "from the Thai perspective as much as possible, and to let people know about Thailand".[9] Both books were awarded a Newbery Honor in 2021, making Soontornvat the third author to receive two Newbery awards in the same year (after Meindert DeJong in 1954 and E. L. Konigsburg in 1968).[4] She is the first author to win two Newbery awards in the same year for both fiction (A Wish in the Dark) and nonfiction (All Thirteen).[4]
Soontornvat, along with fellow writers Ellen Oh and Melanie Conklin, organized the Everywhere Book Fest, which took place May 1–2, 2020.[10][11] It was created in response to book festival cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Tucson Festival of Books, where Soontornvat and Oh had been scheduled to speak on a panel.[12] The event included live and pre-recorded segments featuring authors of children's and young adult books, and was attended by over 43,000 online viewers.[11]
Personal life edit
Soontornvat lives in Austin, Texas with her husband. They have two children.[4]
Publications edit
Changelings series edit
Diary of an Ice Princess series edit
- Snow Place Like Home (June 25, 2019)[15]
- Frost Friends Forever (June 25, 2019)[15]
- On Thin Ice (October 1, 2019)[16]
- The Big Freeze (March 3, 2020)[17]
- Slush Puppy Love (June 2, 2020)[17]
- Icing on the Snowflake (September 15, 2020)[18]
Other books edit
- The Blunders: A Counting Catastrophe! (February 11, 2020)[19]
- A Wish in the Dark (March 24, 2020)[20]
- Simon at the Art Museum (June 9, 2020)[21]
- All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team (October 13, 2020)[22]
- The Ramble Shamble Children (March 9, 2021)[23]
- The Last Mapmaker (April 12, 2022)[24]
References edit
- ^ "About Christina". Christina Soontornvat. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ Bunnag, Tatat (November 9, 2020). "A breathtaking tale". Bangkok Post. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "'โค้ชเอก-หมูป่า'รับ1.5ล้าน ค่าลิขสิทธิหนังสือ-ภาพยนตร์". Siam Town US (in Thai). 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "WHS graduate and author gains two Newbery Honors". Weatherford Democrat. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ Blank, Gwen (December 1, 2020). "Saving All Thirteen". Trinity University. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ Anchondo, Carlos (September 12, 2016). "Creating Fantasy". Trinity University. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
- ^ Mayer, Petra (August 31, 2020). "Welcome To Story Hour: 100 Favorite Books For Young Readers". NPR. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Gurdon, Meghan Cox (October 30, 2020). "Children's Books: Help Is On the Way!". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Murphy, Patricia J (January 25, 2021). "Q & A with Christina Soontornvat". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ de León, Concepción (March 20, 2020). "Home With Your Kids? Writers Want to Help". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ a b Kantor, Emma; Yung, Sarah (May 7, 2020). "Everywhere Book Fest in Photos". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ Vane, Sharon (April 24, 2020). "Authors create virtual Everywhere Book Fest for kids, young adults during coronavirus". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ "The Changelings". Kirkus Reviews. June 1, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "In a Dark Land". Kirkus Reviews. August 21, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "Spring 2019 Children's Announcements: Publishers R-Z". Publishers Weekly. February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Lodge, Sally; Maughan, Shannon (July 19, 2019). "Fall 2019 Children's Announcements: Publishers R-Z". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ a b Lodge, Sally; Maughan, Shannon (February 14, 2020). "Spring 2020 Children's Announcements: Publishers R-Z". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Lodge, Sally; Maughan, Shannon (July 17, 2020). "Fall 2020 Children's Announcements: Publishers R-Z". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "The Blunders". Kirkus Reviews. October 9, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "A Wish in the Dark". Kirkus Reviews. January 12, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Shea, Shana (May 8, 2020). "Simon at the Art Museum". School Library Journal. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "All Thirteen". Kirkus Reviews. August 18, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "The Ramble Shamble Children". Kirkus Reviews. December 25, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ "The Last Mapmaker". Kirkus Reviews. January 11, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
External links edit
- Official website