Alex Gino

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alex Gino (2016 in the children and youth program of the 16th International Literature Festival Berlin )

Alex Gino (born in New York City , New York ) is of American nationality, works as a writer and is best known for the children's novel George (2015), which is about the experiences of a transgender woman .

Gino names the gender identity as non-binary , uses the singular pronoun they for himself and claims the gender-neutral form of address "Mx." (Instead of Mr. or Ms. ).

Life

Alex Gino was born and raised on Staten Island , New York. Since then, Gino has lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, New York, Astoria, New York, and Northampton, Massachusetts . In 2008 Gino moved to California with his partner. Gino started writing in 2003 and worked on George until 2015 . When Gino started writing the book, there was hardly any literature that addressed transgender and other gender identities and was suitable for children. Gino said in an interview: "When I started writing Melissa's story back in 2003, there were very few children's books with realistic lesbian or gay characters and I couldn't find any children's books with positive representations of transgender people or issues." it is of particular importance for Gino to publish George . Gino is currently working on a book about police violence and the Black Lives Matter movement. Gino is also doing volunteer service at the Oakland Public Library, California, as part of the Second Start Adult Literacy project.

Gino has been an activist in the transgender and queer movement for over twenty years . Personal experience in this area led, among other things, to the decision to write and publish George . Gino is an active member of the grassroots organization We need diverse books .

In 2016, Alex Gino was a member of the jury for The Extraordinary Book of the Children and Youth Program of the Berlin International Literature Festival .

Gino lives in California , USA.

Literary work

Gino's debut children's book George was published on August 25, 2015 by the American publisher Scholastic in English . The German translation was published by S. Fischer Verlag in August 2016 . Alexandra Ernst translated the book into German. George has been published in the USA, Great Britain , Italy and Sweden , among others .

The book tells the story of Melissa, a transgender girl who is perceived as a boy by those around her and is called George. She has trouble telling the truth to her family and friends, but struggles to be herself. George can be assigned to various literary genres. In addition to being classified as a children's book and youth novel, it can also be assigned to the transgender and LGBT genre. In 2015 Scholastic published an English-language audio book edition, which was read in by trans woman Jamie Clayton.

The book George was awarded the 2016 Stonewall Book Award of the American Library Association award in the category "Children's Books" (children's books).

reception

The book received an overall very positive response from the press. The New York Times wrote: "timely, touching novel [...] with refreshingly little fanfare" and "the most right-now book imaginable". The Kirkus Review described it as “deeply moving in its simplicity and joy. Warm, funny, and inspiring. ”The Publishers Weekly magazine described it as“ profound, moving, and […] radiant ”. The bookpage wrote in its review: “Debut author Alex Gino beautifully addresses the struggles of being a transgender youth.” The article also suggests that Gino's book can help prevent young readers who have the same experience from feeling like this feel alone, and that all cisgender readers gain understanding and empathy. Wieland Freund wrote in Die Welt : “sensitive and touching”.

bibliography

Nominations and Awards

For the book George , Gino received both the Stonewall Book Award in the “Children's Books” category and the Lambda Literary Award in the “LGBT Children's / Young Adult” category.

Public performances

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b John Hansen: Interview - Alex Gino: “I knew I was different as a kid”. In: TheGuardian.com . September 9, 2015, accessed November 28, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b Self-presentation: Alex Gino: Bio. Own website, 2019, accessed on November 28, 2019 (English). Ibid: Press Kit.
  3. ↑ http://stories.flipkart.com/george-alex-gino-transgender/
  4. ↑ http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/blogs/from-main-library/be-who-you-are-how-boring
  5. ↑ http://weneeddiversebooks.org/
  6. ↑ George. In: Fischerverlage.de.
  7. ↑ https://www.worldcat.org/title/george/oclc/900624128/editions?editionsView=true&referer=br
  8. ↑ Entry: “George” by Alex Gino - Audiobook Excerpt. In: SoundCloud.com: Scholastic Audiobooks . 2015, accessed on November 28, 2019.
  9. ↑ Announcement: ALA News: 2016 Stonewall Book Awards Announced. In: ALA.org . December 1, 2016, accessed November 28, 2019.
  10. ↑ Tim Federle: “George,” by Alex Gino. In: NYtimes.com . September 11, 2015, accessed November 28, 2019.
  11. ↑ Kirkus Review: "George" by Alex Gino. In: LirkusReviews.com. May 6, 2015, accessed November 28, 2019.
  12. ↑ Jennifer Laughran: PW Picks: "George". In: publishersweekly.com . May 11, 2015, accessed November 28, 2019.
  13. ↑ Heather Brush: Book reviews: "George" Alex Gino. September 2015, accessed on November 28, 2019.
  14. ↑ Wieland Freund : What should I read? Ten pretty much the best children's books. In: Welt.de . October 24, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2019 .
  15. ↑ http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2016/01/2016-stonewall-book-awards-announced
  16. ↑ The 2016 Lambda Literary Award Winners , accessed September 1, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Gino, Alex
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York , USA