NYCC 2023: Interview with David Levithan

Note: Due to the time constraints, this will be published on the main Anime Herald site on November 2. We apologize for the inconvenience.

• Author: Seth Burn
• Editor: Samantha Ferreira

Anime Herald: You have written an unusually diverse number of different love stories. Boy loves girl. Boy loves boy. Genderless loves girl. What inspired you to write about love from so many different angles?

David Levithan: I think I prefer taking the origin story of romance from different vantages because they tell us such interesting things about love itself. And, of course, as a queer writer, I want to make sure that all kinds of stories are on the shelf, not just the ones that have been around for centuries.

Anime Herald: Speaking specifically about Every Day, where did you get the idea of a truly gender-fluid soul?

David Levithan: One day while walking to work, I thought, What would it be like to wake up in a different body and a different life each day? Goodness knows what I was feeling about my own body at that moment—although it did tie back to a game I used to play in school when, bored in class, I would try to imagine myself into the bodies of my classmates and extrapolate what my life would be like if I looked like them. Once I started writing the novel, I understood more fully the implications of not being defined by a body—including being completely agendered.

Anime Herald: Some people can write. Others can edit. You are well-practiced at both. Do you feel there’s a symbiotic relationship between the two skills?

David Levithan: Absolutely. They are different skills, but in the same skill set. I think my editorial brain helps me structure my stories better instinctually, and I think my writing brain makes me much more empathetic to the words of the authors I edit.

Anime Herald: During your panel, you will be covering a variety of queer romantic tropes. What are some of your favorites?

David Levithan: I’m going to be honest with you: I try to think about tropes as little as possible. I work with some amazing authors who are hyperaware of tropes and love to tweak them. But for me, I’d rather not think of my characters as characters, and instead think of them as people. So sectioning them into tropes would be limiting.

Anime Herald: Are you into manga/anime? If so, what anime/manga are you currently watching or reading?

David Levithan: I have to tell you, I saw the new Miyazaki movie, The Boy and the Heron, at the New York Film Festival last week, and I can’t stop thinking about it or talking about it. I might even go out on a limb and say it’s my favorite. But I’ll have to see it at least two more times to be sure.

Anime Herald: Have you found the time to visit Australia?

David Levithan: I’ve been there five times! And hope to go back in the next year. There are such amazing book festivals there. And Kinokuniya in Sydney is one of my favorite bookstores. (Honestly, I could go on and on about the places and people in Australia who make me happy… but I’ll leave it at that.)

Anime Herald: What music is currently on your (finite?) playlist?

David Levithan: I see what you did there. I am currently obsessed with Chappell Roan’s album, and Boygenius is still in very heavy rotation from earlier in the year.

Anime Herald: Would you describe yourself as more of a blue-haired boy (like Ryan) or more of a pink-haired boy (like Avery)?

David Levithan: The honest answer is that parts of me are more Ryan, and parts of me are more Avery. And I’ve never dyed my hair, but when I was considering it, I was definitely thinking blue.

Anime Herald: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

David Levithan: Allow yourself to make mistakes and have a messy first draft.

Anime Herald: What advice would you give to aspiring editors?

David Levithan: Allow other people to make mistakes and have a messy first draft.

Anime Herald: Finally, if you were to ever have the chance to speak with Emma Thompson, what would you like to say to her?

David Levithan: I mean, let’s be honest: if I could find words at all, I would just blurt out, “I love you!” True story: two very popular YA authors and I were in a breakfast room at a festival in the UK, and Emma Thompson walked in and took her place at the buffet. Even though she seemed entirely approachable, and we were daring each other super hard, none of us could muster the courage to say hello. (I’m now wondering if one of them put you up to this question. . . .)

(Editor’s note: No comment.)