The Making of The Wednesday Wars
Interview with Gary Schmidt, Professor of English
Publisher's Weekly
May 5, 2007

Printz and Newbery Honor winner Gary Schmidt (Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy) mined his Long Island childhood for his latest book, The Wednesday Wars (Clarion, May). Bookshelf caught up with Schmidt while he was on the road, talking to school kids about his books.

Though you never mention the name of the town in The Wednesday Wars , I'm guessing it's Hicksville, right?

Right! But I can never use the real name, because who would believe I'm actually from a town called Hicksville?

Did you graduate from Hicksville High School with its other famous son, Billy Joel?

I graduated in 1975 and he was before my time, but my mother was a teacher, and she remembers he used to cut classes to play piano.

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