Authors & Illustrators
At Home With Best-Selling Author Kate DiCamillo
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Photographed by Dina Kantor
Oct 13, 2022
It’s not everyday that you get to snoop around the space where not one—but several—best-selling books have been written. But thankfully, beloved kid-lit author Kate DiCamillo said “yes” to our ask, inviting us into her Minnesota home and the office where she writes every morning—two pages, sometimes three, and onward.
After her first book, Because of Winn-Dixie (2000), became a smash hit, she’s gone on to write dozens more successful titles (including The Tale of Despereaux, Flora & Ulysses, The Beatryce Prophecy, and the Mercy Watson series) that have captured the hearts of children and adults alike. Still, she stays humble.
“I remember saying to my best friend early on: ‘This is all so overwhelming, how do I deal with people expecting things of me?’ And she said: ‘It’s not about you, pumpkin.’ I keep those words in mind when I write,” says Kate. “My job is to get out of my own way and tell the story. The rest of it—what happens when the story goes out into the world—I can’t control that.”
Meet Kate DiCamillo and visit her book-filled office in our slideshow!
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- Kate DiCamillo welcomes us into the room in her home where a bulk of the magic/writing happens.
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- Kate's 2021 best-seller The Beatryce Prophecy (center) alongside a sliver of her latest release, A Very Mercy Christmas (left), the 13th book in the Mercy Watson series.
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"My 'office' is right at the bottom of the stairs and right next to the kitchen—where the coffee maker goes off automatically in the morning."
"That smell of coffee climbs the stairs, wakes me up, and I come downstairs and pour the coffee and go right into the office. It's early. It's still dark. And I write surrounded by books on writing and books for children and also watched over by a rabbit doll named Edward."
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- Vintage Coca-Cola crates, topped by a Lucy from Peanuts head.
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- More creatures and critters that decorate the space.
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- "This space is the space, yes. This is where I come to do the writing. And it is always early in the morning—until I get to the major rewrite stage, then it is all day."
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- A ceramic friend sits on a stack of blank paper.
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- "The day starts with writing—usually two pages and then I'll turn to office work (emails, signing books, that kind of thing) and then a little later, I'll come back into the office, to maybe do a third page."
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- "I work slowly and I work by doing multiple drafts. So, I'll often have many projects going at once. I do take a few days off in between drafts. But I'm always happiest when I'm working on a story."
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- Kate's bookshelves, filled with treasured titles and meaningful knick-knacks.
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- "Yes, in the office there are books on writing and writers and books for children that have inspired me. But the whole house is filled with books. I'm a reader. I would be lost without books."
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- "I do have a routine (up early, coffee, 2-3 pages a day, time in the afternoon for cogitating and reading and writing in the notebook). I almost always have music for a particular story that I will play each time I sit down to write. "
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- One of many vintage photos in the space.
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- A bunch of books on writing, including The Writer's Home Companion, Becoming a Writer, The Artist's Way, The Spirit's Terrain, The Writing Life, The Screenwriter's Workbook, Aspects of the Novel, and Reading, Writing, and Leaving Home.
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- "The pandemic has changed how *much* writing I can do. It used to be that I was on the road for a good portion of the year, and I couldn't write while I was traveling. Now, I'm home most of the time. And so more writing gets done, and I have found that there is a great deal of comfort in telling stories. They anchor me."
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- "It wasn't until I started working at a book warehouse—a book distributor called the Bookmen here in Minneapolis, now defunct—and got assigned to the 3rd floor, where all the children's books were, that I figured out I wanted to write books for kids."
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- A stuffed animal version of Kate's beloved picture-book character, Mercy Watson.
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- The aforementioned gifted rabbit, Edward, who inspired one of Kate's books after she dreamt of him.
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- "I was working at the Bookmen and a sales rep from Candlewick Press came in to the warehouse and I said to her: 'I write for kids and I love everything Candlewick publishes, but I don't have an agent and I've never been published. How can I get someone at Candlewick to read what I've written?' And this rep said these unbelievable words: 'Get a manuscript to me and I'll get it to an editor at Candlewick.' And she did. Linda Nelson. That was that sales rep's name. Thank you, Linda Nelson."
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- Kate's very own trilogy: The Raymie Nightingale 3-book collection, ideal for middle-grade readers.
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- "It was wonderful and it was unnerving. I had seen enough of the book industry working at the Bookmen to have very realistic expectations for what would happen with a first novel from an unknown writer. And so when people loved Winn-Dixie...it just kind of undid me. It changed my life."
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- Kate, as a child, photographed with her mother, Betty.
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- "I remember saying to my best friend early on: 'This is all so overwhelming, how do I deal with people expecting things of me?' And she said: 'It's not about you, pumpkin.' I keep those words in mind when I write. My job is to get out of my own way and tell the story. The rest of it—what happens when the story goes out into the world—I can't control that."
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- A framed copy of the New York Times Best-Seller List, when Kate's debut book, Because Of Winn-Dixie, hit the #6 spot.
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"Sometimes a story will start with a name. Or a sentence. Or an image. Or the sound of a voice. Or a character. And I sit down and write a rough draft that makes almost no sense. But it is a beginning."
"And then after that rough draft sits for awhile, I will come back and do a second draft. I don't outline. I don't know what's going to happen. I just follow the characters."
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- Writing and journaling are daily practices for Kate.
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"My mother bought me books, read to me, and took me to the library. She also taught me to read. That's the best cheerleading I know."
"My friends are my first readers. They believe in me and laugh at me and read for me. Which is the same as cheering for me, I suppose."
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- All smiles.
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"I am kept in the loop as to who will illustrate the books, but generally I don't meet them until the book is done. I see art as it comes in and I comment on it. But it is my editor who shows me the art."
"It's a strange way of working. The artist and I are kind of kept apart. But I've learned to trust the process."
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- Kate's trusty companion, Ramona.
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"Oh, my goodness. I read everything. I loved so many different books."
"Harriet the Spy, Anne of Green Gables, Stuart Little, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, biographies of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington Carver, Paddington books, The Borrowers...the list goes on and on."
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- "I am a big reader. I just finished Middlemarch. I loved it. I'm also reading an older Jane Gardam called The Hollow Land—fabulous. And I just finished a galley of Kevin Wilson's Now is Not the Time to Panic, which I loved. I am currently swooning over Sophie Blackall’s new picture book, Farmhouse."
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- Kate and Ramona enjoy a leafy Minnesota walk.
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- "Oh, I love Mercy Watson and everyone on Deckawoo Drive and I would like to spend as much time as possible there. When I was a kid, all of us neighborhood kids would go caroling at Christmas. None of us could sing. It was such a happy, magical time. I hope this book taps into some of that magic."
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- "I love to eat!!! And I love to walk—there are great walking lakes here in Minneapolis. I also love the MIA (the Minneapolis Institute of Art)—it's free, so you can run in for an hour and fill yourself up with beauty. And coffee—there is really good coffee there."
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- "Because kids are human beings and they live in this world. And it is a beautiful world and a scary world and a generous world and a challenging world and we need to tell the truth about that."
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"I would tell them to read as much as they can. To write a little bit each day. To carry a notebook with them everywhere. The notebook is a reminder to keep their eyes and ears and hearts and minds open."
For more advice, read Kate's 6 tips on writing from her website.
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You can keep following along with Kate DiCamillo on her Facebook page. (We also suggest watching this amazing Talking Volumes interview with Kate).
And be sure to scoop up her latest book, A Very Mercy Christmas.
Write a Comment
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Kate,
Been watching your career and you have done an impressive job. Don’t know if you remember me or not, but I was friends with Mike Griffis. We use to go to Leonardos and hang out here and there. Last time I saw you was at Mike’s wedding.
I’m married now for 29 years and put a son and daughter through UF, Go Gators.
Anyway, been wanting to say hi for a while, but didn’t know how. Saw this form so I thought it was a good place to try.
Hope to hear from you.
Ken
Ms DiCamillo,
I am doing book studies for third through fifth grade, using your Edward Tulane. Edward is my favorite. I was wondering if you had any study guides to go along with the books or ideas on questions to ask. Thank you for your time. Norma