Although best known as a prolific writer of young adult fiction, Brent Hartinger is also a playwright and a mentor for other writers and students. In addition, he is an activist against censorship, particularly of works intended for children and young people.
Born in 1964, Hartinger attended Catholic grade school and high school. He graduated from high school in June 1983. He received his B.A. in psychology and political science from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington in 1986, completing a four-year program in three years. He also completed the coursework for a master's degree in psychology at the same university, though, much to the chagrin of his mother, he declined to write his thesis.
Hartinger began writing at an early age by publishing his own newspaper called The Weekly Worm in the third grade, though it was not until after college that he made the decision to write full-time. His work has been wide-ranging, including novels, plays, articles, essays, newspaper columns, and even greeting card copy.
As with many authors, success for Hartinger did not come early or easily. He spent fifteen years trying to get a novel published while supporting himself as a freelance writer and teen counselor. He even worked as an extra in the movie Come See the Paradise (1991, directed by Alan Parker), which starred Dennis Quaid.
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