Kate DiCamillo
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Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo (born March 25, 1964) is an author known for her award-winning children's books. Her works include: Because of Winn-Dixie (Newbery Honor book 2000; released by 20th Century Fox as a film in 2005), The Tiger Rising (National Book Award finalist 2001), The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread (Newbery Medal winner 2004), Mercy Watson to the Rescue, 2005, Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, 2006, Mercy Watson Fights Crime, 2006, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner for Fiction).
DiCamillo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was often sick as a child, and suffered from mumps, measles, chicken pox (twice), pneumonia, as well as typhus. She was so sick that she suffered through several cold Pennsylvania winters inside an oxygen tent. Her family moved to Florida, because doctors thought the warm weather would be better for her health. It is unclear if her health benefited, but the move South proved fruitful for her career (both Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tiger Rising are set in Florida). As of 2006, she lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota.
DiCamillo is known as a disciplined writer. Before becoming an author full-time, she had a routine of waking at 4:00 A.M. every morning to write before heading off to work at a children's book store. Even after winning the Newbery award, she remains diligent. She is said to write at least two pages a day, five days a week. Her brother, Curt DiCamillo, is a noted architectural historian.
