Child authors from across the globe prove that there is no minimum age requirement to sit at the bestseller’s table. You may be aware of Christopher Paolini's work, who started writing his best-selling fantasy series at 15. But if you try to look for the youngest authors ever, you will come across some startling examples. Below are some brilliant authors who gained literary success through their published work before turning 16. Mattie Stepanek - The Author of Five Poetry Books Mattie suffered from a rare kind of muscular dystrophy, but he never let his disability slow down his writing. He became a New York Times bestselling author of five poetry books during his life. The young author was also a lobbyist for disabilities and a peace advocate. Mattie achieved immense literary success before passing away at 13 in 2004. Alec Greven - The 9-year-old Author with Dating Tips At the age of 9, Alec watched his male peers getting rejected by cute schoolmates on the elementary playground. So the child author penned a book called How to Talk to Girls in 2008. Greven wrote this self-help guidebook to help his friends pick up girls better. This book became a New York Times bestseller and came with practical dating tips like combing your hair and skipping sweatpants. After Greven's first bestseller, he wrote on various other topics, including How to Talk to Dads, How to Talk to Moms, and Rules for School. S.E. Hinton - The Author of ‘The Outsiders’ Susan Eloise Hinton was always a fervent booklover but was not content with the books that were published for young adults. At the of 15, when she was still in high school, her writing career began with her first literary work called The Outsiders. The book had become a bestseller by the time Hinton went to college. The Outsiders continues to outperform all her other work, selling nearly 14 million copies. Dorothy Straight - The 4-year-old Author Back in 1962, Dorothy Straight was a 4-year-old when she made up her mind to write How the World Began as a present for her grandmother. Dorothy’s parents smelled success from her work and decided to seek out a publisher. Pantheon Books agreed to publish the book in 1964 when Dorothy was only 6-years-old. Daisy Ashford - The 9-year-old Author Daisy Ashford wrote her first story in 1885 when she was 4, but her most well-known literary work is The Young Visiters, which she finished at the age of 9. Eventually, the manuscript got published in 1919, and it preserved her childlike diction. If you haven’t yet read a book by any child author, try out some of the titles listed above.
