Judy Blume speaks at the Santa Fe International Literary Festival: NPR

Judy Blume is a renowned author of books for young adults including Are you there, Lord it’s me Margaret, deeni, tiger eyes, 4th grade nothing stories And cry.

His last book, from 2015 In an unlikely eventWas published more than a decade ago. Bloom now spends her time reading children’s books behind the counter at her bookstore in Key West, Florida. Although she says she has finished writing, her books remain beloved; Its readers are numerous and dedicated.

Judy Blume talks with NPR’s Scott Simon Santa Fe International Literature Festival In May. Here are excerpts from that conversation, edited in parts for clarity and length.

scott simon:How did you start writing? What do you think made you a writer?

judy bloom: I was a reader. And, you know, I meet a lot of kids and they’re like, “I want to be a writer when I grow up, but I don’t like reading.” And I say, “You know what? Forget being a writer.” Because I think every writer – that I know anyway – has evolved as a reader. And that was certainly true for me.

simon: What do you think was the spark that moved you from reading to writing?

bloom: I was married at a young age. I had two small children. And I was desperate for a creative outlet. I loved taking care of kids, but I needed something more and it could be anything.

simon: I read that at some point in your life you made felt artworks?

bloom: Oh my God, my first career. You know, I stopped because Elmer’s glue – I’m an allergic person – started doing weird things to me on the tips of my fingers. I made $300 by selling them. And I bought myself a small electric typewriter. And the rest is history.

But I always had stories going on in my head – since I was 9 years old. I bounced a rubber ball around my house for hours. But what was really going on were the stories. Great stories, very dramatic. I never told anyone. I’ve never asked a friend, “Hey, do you have stories running through your head all the time?” Because I thought they would think I was weird, which I might have been. So the stories were always there.

simon: What was the process like for you when you were writing?

bloom: Well, I kept a notebook for each book and I wrote everything in it. Everything, everything, everything for a long time. for months.

And then the day I feel ready to start, well, that’s either the scariest part of writing or the best. Because, you know, when you have a good day – I mean, I had kids, and I’d sit down at the dinner table and say, “You’ll never believe what Tony did today.” Because they are real. They are real to you. And you’re living with them for months, sometimes years. And you will be locked in a small room with them the whole day. Therefore 50 years is enough. I was ready to come out into the world.

But I have found another career that I love. I have a bookstore and I love it.

simon: I guess you won’t miss writing, at least for the time being.

bloom: I don’t forget to write but I’m so glad I did. I mean, writing changed my life. But now it’s time to let it go. Could I have come up with more ideas and written more books? Yes. But I’m really happy that I found something else that I love to do.

simon:Do the characters ever come calling for you?

bloom: No. They know better. They are calm.

Do you know how many letters I get? “We need Judy to write a book – Margaret in Menopause.”

Margaret is always going to be 12 years old. She’s not knocking, saying, “Let me out. I’m in menopause!”

They are what they are. They live in the book. They live in the book. They live for me in the book. And then I have to let them go.