9 Writers Prove Age Is Just a Number

Age Is Just a Number
by Dara Torres,
Olympic Champion

It's my HALF birthday! Only six months until I’m a quarter of a century old, wahoo! So today I thought it’d be fun to acknowledge five authors (whose writing I’ve read) first published before age 24.5. I also wanted to recognize writers first published after age 70.5, but my web searching did not yield any results. I’m acknowledging four writers first published over 50.5 instead. The following nine authors show that age is just a number!

Younglings first published before age 24.5:

S. E. Hinton (July 22, 1948) wrote and published The Outsiders at age 16. The novel became so popular that she was named “The Voice of the Youth.” Such unexpected success brought a lot of pressure with it, and Hinton suffered from writer’s block for the next three years. By age 22, she published her second novel That Was Then, This Is Now and continued to publish popular novels for young adults. Thank goodness she got over her writer’s block because her books are terrific!

John Keats (Oct. 31, 1795 – Feb. 23, 1821) began writing poetry when when he was 18 years old. He published his first poems at age 21 and was writing his masterpieces by age 23. Since Keats died of tuberculosis when he was 25, all of Keats’ work was published before he was 24.5. I always wonder about Keats and how he would’ve influenced poetry further if he hadn’t died so young. What would he have written in his late twenties, in his thirties and forties and fifties? It breaks my heart just thinking about it. 

Carson McCullers (Feb. 19, 1917 – Sept. 29, 1967) published her first novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter at age 23. It’s considered one of her best-known novels. McCullers died young, but she contributed to southern literary fiction in a lasting way.

Christopher Paolini (Nov. 17, 1983) started writing Eragon at age 15 and self-published it three years later. Soon after that, Eragon caught the attention of Alfred A. Knopf Books, who published it when Paolini was 19. The novel and its sequels went on to become bestsellers. 

Mary Shelley (Aug. 30, 1797 – Feb. 1, 1851) started writing Frankenstein at age 18 and it was published anonymously by her 20th year. Reviewers and readers assumed her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, wrote the novel. Imagine their surprise when they found out it was actually written by a teenage woman! 

Those five young authors, including the many other young authors out there, prove it’s not necessary to experience more years of life to write about love, sorrow, revenge, prejudice, friendship, or family.

Wise Ones first published after age 50.5:

Laura Ingalls Wilder (Feb. 7, 1867 – Feb. 10, 1957) published her first novel Little House in the Big Woods when she was 65. She wrote and published seven more novels in the series over the next eleven years. The series’ ninth novel was published posthumously based on her notes and outlines. Five of Wilder’s Little House books won Newbery Honor medals.

Anna Sewell (March 30, 1820 – April 25, 1878) started writing the children’s classic Black Beauty at age 51. It was published when she was 57 and its successful sales broke publishing records in 1877. Black Beauty continues to be one of the best-selling books of all time.

Richard Adams (May 9, 1920) published his first novel, Watership Down, at age 52. It immediately gained international acclaim. Adams published several novels and stories since his first success.

I haven’t read anything by Nirad Chaudhuri (November 23, 1897 – August 1, 1999), but I had to include him in this list. At age 54 he published his first book, The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian. Thirty-six years later at age 90 he published the sequel, Thy Hand, Great Anarch! Finally, his last book, Three Horsemen of the New Apocalypse, was published at age ONE HUNDRED (yes, that’s 100!). Whew! Chaudhuri is further proof that age IS just a number!

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.”  ~Mark Twain

“Everyone is the age of their heart.”  ~Guatemalan Proverb

Share with me!

What young authors and older authors have I missed? Do you know of any writers first published over 70.5?