1. Ellen Louise Hopkins was born on March 26,1955 and is a novelist who has published several New York Times bestselling novels that are popular among the teenage and young adult audience.
16 Facts About Ellen Hopkins
1. 2.
Ellen Hopkins graduated from a high school in the Santa Ynez Valley, then studied journalism at Crafton Hills College and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
3.
Ellen Hopkins dropped out of university before graduation to start a family and business.
4.
Ellen Hopkins was abusive and kidnapped Kelly, keeping her in secrecy for three years.
5.
Ellen Hopkins started out freelancing newspaper and magazine articles, then moved from there into children's nonfiction.
6.
Ellen Hopkins believes most of her writing talent originates from her own talent and from her adoptive mother.
7.
Ellen Hopkins considers her fifth-grade teacher the first person to encourage her to become a professional writer.
8.
Later in life, Ellen Hopkins found her biological mother, Toni Chandler, who was a writer and poet.
9.
Ellen Hopkins started with nonfiction books for children, including Air Devils and Orcas: High Seas Supermen.
10.
Ellen Hopkins has since written several verse novels exposing teenage struggles such as drug addiction, mental illness, and prostitution, including Crank, Burned, Impulse, Identical, Glass, Tricks, Tilt, and Fallout.
11.
Ellen Hopkins felt they needed their own story after the release of Triangles.
12.
In 2006, Ellen Hopkins was recognized with a Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.
13.
Ellen Hopkins was inducted as a full member into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 2015.
14.
Ellen Hopkins's daughter, Cristal, who is the inspiration for the character Kristina Snow in the Crank series, is married and is a realtor.
15.
Ellen Hopkins has a YouTube channel under the name "Cristal Thetford", where she openly addresses her experiences with drug addiction.
16.
Ellen Hopkins's books have regularly been included in the American Library Association's lists of the most frequently banned and challenged books in the United States.