S. E. Hinton's career as an author began while she was still a student in high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Disturbed by the clashes of the two gangs in her high school, the Greasers and the Socs, Hinton wrote The Outsiders, an honest, sometimes shocking novel told from the point of view of a 14-year-old Greaser names Ponyboy Curtis. The Outsiders was published during Hinton's freshman year at college, and was an immediate sensation. The book was also made into a film in 1983, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and featuring budding young stars Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Rob Lowe. The overnight success of The Outsiders brought a lot of pressure, resulting in a three-year-long writer's block. Her boyfriend (now husband) eventually helped break this block by suggesting she write two pages a day before going anywhere. This ultimately led to her second novel, That Was Then, This Is Now, which was also made into a film in 1985, starring Emilio Estevez. Ms. Hinton went on to write several other novels, including Rumble Fish and Tex. In 1988, she was awarded the first ever Margaret A. Edwards Award, given in honor of "an author whose book or books, over a period of time, have been accepted by young people as an authentic voice that continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives." S. E. Hinton still lives in Oklahoma with her husband, where she enjoys writing, riding horses, and taking courses at the university.
