E. Lockhart
Brooklyn, NY USA
"Getting a Ph.D. feels like you’re going to go up this huge mountain on this narrow path. But then you get to the top and realize, if I can do that, I can do anything."
Career Roadmap
E.'s work combines: Writing, Education, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
My path was useful but I recommend doing internships and writing as much as you can.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
English Language and Literature, General
Vassar College
Doctorate
English Literature (British and Commonwealth)
Columbia College
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Often writes under her pen name “E. Lockhart,” but has also published work under her birth name, Emily Jenkins.
2.
Her father was a playwright and she spent a large amount of her childhood going to rehearsals with him—credits this as her first education in storytelling.
3.
Has wanted to be a writer since she was eight years old and even wrote two novels while in third grade.
4.
Her biggest dream was to write for Marvel Comics, but she had no idea how to get her foot in the door.
5.
Decided to go to graduate school at Columbia University to become a literature professor—says she chose her 19th-century British literature major because she liked to read novels and it felt safe.
6.
Admits that she wasn’t happy there, but used it as an opportunity to read and write all that she could.
7.
By the time she graduated, she knew she wanted to pursue writing full-time—she is now a celebrated author, having written over 40 children’s books, young adult, and adult fiction novels.
8.
Her favorite audience to write for are young adults—says that genre allows writers the unique opportunity to be activists, advocates, and effect real change in the world.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
Writing a dissertation is impossible.
How I responded:
I just did it. A wrote one page at a time until it was finished. Once I did that, I felt like I could write anything.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
Because I'm a writer and I work for myself, paychecks can be infrequent or unreliable. You just have to be comfortable with that uncertainty.