Joy McCullough

American author of young adult fiction

Joy McCullough is an American author of young adult fiction. She is best known for her verse novel Blood Water Paint. She lives in Seattle, Washington.[1] She attended Northwestern University.[2]

## Writing career[edit]

Blood Water Paint is a verse novel of biographical fiction for young adults. Its subject is Italian baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, who was raped and took her attacker to court.[3] It is the tenth novel written by McCullough and it was the first of her books published.[2] McCullough, whose background was as a playwright and not as a poet, first developed Blood Water Paint as a play that was produced in 2015.[4][2] She read transcripts from the rape trial, which had been translated into English, in her research.[4]

Blood Water Paint received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal. The Horn Book called it "a powerful novel."[5] Publishers Weekly wrote, "A haunting, stirring depiction of an unforgettable woman"[6] and School Library Journal wrote, "McCullough’s beautifully crafted text will inspire upper-middle/high school readers to research the true story upon which this powerful piece of historical fiction is based. The poetry is clear and revelatory, exploring Artemisia’s passion for both art and life." Blood Water Paint was longlisted for National Book Foundation's 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.[7][8] It was named one of the year's ten best historical fiction novels for youth by Booklist.[9] The audiobook was read by Xe Sands.[10]

In 2020, McCullough published A Field Guide for Getting Lost.[11][12]

On March 8, 2022, Tess Sharpe, Caroline Tung Richmond, Jessica Spotswood and McCullough released the novel Great or Nothing, a retelling of the classic Little Women, set during the second World War.[13]

## Selected works[edit]

* Blood Water Paint. Dutton, 2017.[14][6][15][16]
* A Field Guide to Getting Lost. Atheneum, 2020.[11]
* Across the Pond. Atheneum, 2021. ISBN 9781534471214
* Not Starring Zadie Louise. Atheneum, 2022. ISBN 9781534496231
* Code Red. Atheneum, 2023. ISBN 9781534496286

### Picture books[edit]

* Champ and Major: First Dogs. Illustrated by Sheyda Abvabi Best. Dial Books, 2021. ISBN 9780593407141
* Harriet's Ruffled Feathers. Illustrated by Romina Galotta. Atheneum, 2022. ISBN 9781534486768
* The Story of a Book. Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth. Atheneum, 2023.

### Collaborations[edit]

* Great or Nothing. With Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, and Jessica Spotswood. Delacorte, 2022. ISBN 9780593372593

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Joy McCullough". Contemporary Authors. 2019-02-05 - via Gale Literature.
2. ^ a b c Grochowski, Sara (2018-06-28). "Spring 2018 Flying Starts: Joy McCullough". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
3. ^ McCullough, Joy (2018). Blood water paint. New York, NY. ISBN 978-0-7352-3211-2. OCLC 991090994.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. ^ a b Miller, E. Ce (2018-03-07). "This Book Tells The Story Of The 17th Century Sexual Assault Survivor Who Changed Everything". Bustle. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
5. ^ Piehl, Norah (Fall 2018). "McCullough, Joy Blood Water Paint". The Horn Book. 29 (2) - via Gale Literature.
6. ^ a b "Children's Book Review: Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough". Publishers Weekly. 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
7. ^ "2018 NBA Longlist for Young People's Literature Announced". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
8. ^ "The 2018 National Book Awards Longlist: Young People's Literature". The New Yorker. 2018-09-12. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
9. ^ Smith, Julia (2018-04-15). "Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth". Booklist. American Library Association. 114 (16) - via Gale Literature.
10. ^ Azzam, Julie Hakim (2019-09-12). "Review of Blood Water Paint audiobook". The Horn Book. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
11. ^ a b "A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Joy McCullough". Kirkus Reviews. 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
12. ^ "Children's Book Review: A Field Guide to Getting Lost". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
13. ^ McCullough, Joy (2022). Great or nothing. Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood, Caroline Tung Richmond (1st ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-593-37259-3. OCLC 1255520924.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
14. ^ "Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough". Kirkus Reviews. 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
15. ^ Menaldi-Scanlan, Nancy (2018-01-26). "Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough | SLJ Review". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
16. ^ Dobrez, Cindy; Rutan, Lynn (2018-08-03). "Blood Water Paint: Artemisia Gentileschi for YAs". The Booklist Reader. Retrieved 2020-01-17.

## Further reading[edit]

* Interview about Blood Water Paint with School Library Journal
* Review of Blood Water Paint in The New Yorker
* Kling, Caitlin. Booklist, October 15, 2017, review of Blood Water Paint, p. 48.
* Leeper, Angela. BookPage, March 2018, review of Blood Water Paint, p. 28.
* Vardell, Sylvia M. "New Voices in Poetry: Six debut writers introduce their upcoming or recently released books and discuss working in verse." Booklist, Vol. 115, Issue 1. Sept. 1, 2018.
* Voice of Youth Advocates, Review of Blood Water Paint, February 2018, p. 58.

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* Joy McCullough on Goodreads

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Norway
* Germany
* United States