Where Are They Now? Checking in with Eight Child Prodigy Authors

Getting published is hard, and it’s even harder when you haven’t yet fallen in love or learned how to drive. Yet somehow, some people manage to do it. I’m speaking, of course, about the precocious kids who published short stories in a prestigious children’s literary journal in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Clearly all of these child authors were destined for literary greatness — or were they? I tracked down a few of them to find out.

Jen, Age 29 — “Bunny Ate My Shoe” (1997)

Jen currently works as a marketing associate for a shoe store chain headquartered in North Dakota. When I asked her if she’s had any publications since 1997, she admitted she peaked (my word, not hers) at age nine. She says she “likes” her job (quotation marks mine) and particularly likes the discounts. I asked Jen if she’s disappointed that the literary promise she showed at age nine hasn’t amounted to anything, and she said, “Not really.” When I questioned her reliance on hyperbole in creating Bunny’s character, Jen said, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I was nine.” Jen asked me not to call her again, presumably because the reminder of her failure as a writer is too difficult to bear.

Tyler, Age 31 — “A Palm Tree on a Mountain” (1998)

These days Tyler is a chef at a restaurant in New York City that serves “fusion” cuisine, which is like mixing different genres together in one book and calling it “literary.” Tyler described being a chef as “creative in its own way” and alleges that he has no regrets about becoming a chef (as a side note, his food could have used another dash or two of salt). Tyler couldn’t remember much about his story, despite the fact that the editor called it “one of the most inspired stories this magazine has ever had the honor to publish.” As I was leaving his restaurant, Tyler asked me to review it on Yelp, which I did (two stars).

Frank, Age 30 — “On the Way to the Baseball Game” (1999)

Frank is currently working as an eighth grade teacher at a Baltimore middle school with a fair to middling reputation (I’ve seen the test scores). Frank said he became a teacher because he “wanted to make a difference.” I asked him if he teaches his own story in his class, which he doesn’t (presumably it hasn’t stood the test of time). In response to my question about when he realized his dream was dead, Frank said his dream hadn’t died, but rather evolved. I had a chance to speak to a few of Frank’s students, who said he’s a “great” teacher, but I took this with a grain of salt (take note, Tyler!) since their grades are in Frank’s hands.

Mirabelle, Age 30 — “When Water Isn’t Wet” (1999)

Mirabelle is a neurosurgeon at a hospital in Los Angeles. While she wouldn’t make time to speak with me, I called and asked other doctors at the hospital whether any of Mirabelle’s patients have died as due to substandard care. No one would answer that question, which seems like an answer in and of itself. Mirabelle appears to have attended medical school at Stanford and has published articles in a few scientific journals (nothing that would be considered literary). It seems likely that experiencing literary success at such a young age scared her into a fallback career.

Bryce, Age 29 — “Alphabet Soup and Tomato Sandwiches” (2000)

Bryce works as a personal trainer at a fancy gym called Equinox, which as far as I can tell caters to people who haven’t read a book since Kylie and Kendall Jenner published Rebels: City of Indra: The Story of Lex and Livia (what kind of novel has TWO colons in the title?). When I asked Bryce about his story, he had no recollection of writing it. “Soup has a lot of sodium,” said Bryce. When I returned to Equinox the next day with a copy of the journal (I keep all of the issues in 27 boxes in my basement), he maintained that he didn’t write it. It appears as though I tracked down the wrong Bryce.

Anna, Age 29 — “Looking at the Starry Sky” (2000)

Anna is a stay-at-home mom with a one-year-old boy. Anna and I discussed her current writing, which mainly consists of a “mommy blog” in which she documents her adventures with her son Bo. When I asked Anna if she felt like this was a step down from writing fiction, she seemed confused, until I explained that most people see mommy blogs as glorified online diaries. In response to my question about whether people still recognize her name from her publication, Anna once again seemed confused. This was her default state during much of the interview, probably because she spends all of her time with a one-year-old.

Liz, Age 26 — “France is the Farthest Country” (2001)

After fruitless Google searches, my repeated calls to Liz’s friends and family revealed that Liz is living in a rehab facility. I’ll update this as soon as I am able to get in touch with her.

Jimmy, Age 27 — “Stained Glass Sins” (2002)

Jimmy works for a New York-based magazine with a reputation that far exceeds its actual readership. Jimmy told me that pursuing an MFA greatly improved his writing (there are writers who need MFAs, and there are those who don’t). I asked Jimmy how disappointed his twelve-year-old self would be that he hadn’t yet published a book, and was surprised to learn that he has a contract with a publishing house for his debut novel. I asked Jimmy if his advance was larger than the one Milo Yiannopoulos received, and he admitted that it was not, which must be embarrassing for him.

If you liked this post, be sure to pre-order my book, forthcoming on Amazon: Despite All Odds: How You Too Can Survive Rejection as a Young Author and Have a Writing Career Beyond Your Wildest Imagination.