Teaching Writing

The Write Time with Author Gordon Korman and Educator Allison Fallon

By National Writing Project
Back to NWP Radio

Download | Subscribe: Apple / Spotify / Soundcloud

Gordon Korman introduces himself as a regular guy who just happened to write 100 books for kids and adolescent readers. Born in Montreal in October of 1963, his writing career began in the seventh grade when he took English with his track coach. Then, he was challenged to write every day for more than four months and he finished his first novel, This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall! With his mother as his typist, he sent it to Scholastic and just like that, Korman was published as a freshman in high school. That was just the beginning. He has sold well over 30 million copies of his books, many translated in over 30 languages.

Currently, Gordon lives in Long Island outside of NYC where he continues to love visiting school, teachers, and driving his own children to wherever they need to be. His new book, The Fort, about a group of kids who stumble on an abandoned Cold-War-era bomb shelter, was released in summer 2022.

Allison Fallon is an eighth-grade teacher and Department Head at Central Middle School in Greenwich, CT. She has been teaching for 14 years, is an NWP teacher-consultant, and CWP graduate and teacher. In 2021 Allison was awarded the Distinguished Teacher Award for Greenwich Public Schools. When she’s not teaching or crafting curriculum, she is busy with her two daughters, husband, and guinea pigs exploring the outdoors, eating ice cream, and seeking new reading and writing adventures.

Watch the Video

Topics/tags:
Teaching Writing
This post is part of the NWP Radio collection.

Up next

Content type
Teaching Creative Writing: A Conversation with Stephanie Vanderslice
By National Writing Project
Join us for a conversation with Stephanie Vanderslice, a professor of creative writing, the co-director of the Arkansas Writers MFA Workshop at the University of Central Arkansas, and the author of Teaching Creative Writing: The Essential Guide.
Read more
Content type
The Write Time and the Furious Flower Syllabus Project
By National Writing Project
This episode of The Write Time features members of the Furious Flower Syllabus Project, an open-access curriculum for incorporating Black poetry into classrooms of all ages and levels.
Read more
Content type
A Visit with Novelly
By National Writing Project
This episode features the founder and managing director of Novelly, Anna Gabriella Casalme, along with two youth authors who have had their work published through Novelly.
Read more

Also Recommended

See all
Content type
Empowering Youth to Confront the Climate Crisis in English Language Arts
By National Writing Project
This special episode of NWP Radio features many of the educators behind Empowering Youth to Confront the Climate Crisis in English Language Arts, a co-published book from Teachers College Press and the National Writing Project. Recorded in three parts, you won't want to miss this comprehensive overview of this important book.
Read more
Content type
The Write Time with Author Tina Cane and Educator Janelle Bence
By National Writing Project
This episode of The Write Time features Rhode Island's former Poet Laureate Tina Cane and Texas educator Janelle Bence. Tina's poetry has been featured in a variety of publications and her second verse novel for young readers, Are You Nobody Too?, was released in August 2024.
Read more
Content type
The Write Time with Author Mahogany L. Browne and Educator Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
By National Writing Project
This episode of The Write Time features two dynamic literary voices: Kennedy Center Next 50 fellow Mahogany L. Browne and Columbia University Professor and poet Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Ph.D.
Read more