I’ve referred several times over the years to a talk I once saw Katherine Paterson give in Boston at the Cambridge Forum, but only now realized that it was recorded as a podcast in addition to being broadcast on the local radio. It’s a really great talk about how a writer handles the serious topics in children’s literature. Kind of in the same vein as something Madeleine L’Engle once said: “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

She addresses how her background as the child of Christian missionaries and how her everyday faith today affects how she writes. 

At least, that’s what I remember her addressing. Now that I’ve tried opening the file, it appears to be in a format that I can’t access. 🙁  I’ll go ahead and post this anyway, and if anyone knows what program
would play that file, let me know in the comments.