Celebrating “Geekiness”

It’s a beautiful early summer morning and I’m on my way downtown for coffee with Elissa Brent Weissman. I have just finished reading her latest children’s novel, “Nerd Camp,” (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011) and I’m looking forward to finding out what it’s like to be a children’s writer.

We meet at the Metropolitan Coffehouse and Wine Bar in Federal Hill, where Weissman often comes to write. She always found it easier to work out of the house, but now with a 6-month-old daughter, she really can’t get anything done at home.

Originally from Merrick, New York on Long Island, Weissman moved to Baltimore to attend Johns Hopkins University, earning a bachelors degree in writing seminars. She received a masters in children’s literature from Roehampton University in London.

Today, she lives in Federal Hill with her husband, Grant and daughter. She also teaches writing for children at the University of Baltimore and Towson University.

Her newest children’s novel, “Nerd Camp,” is the story of 10-year-old Gabe who is attending the Summer Center for Gifted Enrichment. However, after meeting his soon-to-be stepbrother Zack, a surfing, “cool” “hip” kid from Los Angeles, Gabe begins to wonder, is he a nerd?

I enjoyed the book. How did you get the idea?
For the past four summers, I taught a writing and reading workshop at CTY [Center for Talented Youth].  I remember my first summer. On the first day, there was a break. Ten students were sitting around and they were awkward. Finally, one boy shouted out, ‘how many digits of pi do you know?’ One shouted out ‘I know 15,’ another said,  ‘I only know 6.’ That moment got me thinking that this was a great setting for a book like this.

You wrote about overnight camp. Did you go?
I went to day camp at the Y, never sleep away camp. When I was writing the book, I did research online about bunks and I talked to a lifelong friend who went to [Camp] Ramah. She still finds an excuse to go up there as an adult.

The book has a lot of math. Were you good at math growing up?
I was good at math. I also found that it was easier to make up [math] jokes from a smart kid’s angle. Math lends itself better to jokes than quoting Shakespeare.

I have to ask. Were you a nerd?
I was definitely a nerd. I was like Gabe. At the time, I didn’t think of myself as one. I had friends, was social, but looking back my friends were probably all nerds.

I remember I wrote a novel, “The Ryland Revolt” about playing tricks on a teacher. I was always the good rule-abiding child and would never play tricks on a teacher.

How did you get into writing?
I always wanted to be a writer. I was a huge reader. I liked “Sixth Grade Secrets” by Louis Sacher, ‘The Baby-sitter’s Club’ series [by Ann Martin] and books by Gordon Korman, He published his first book when he was 13. When I was a kid, I idolized that.

You mention Baby-Sitter’s Club books? Does it matter what kids read?
I think there’s a benefit of kids reading anything. Books like Baby-Sitter’s Club and the Goosebumps series [by R.L. Stine] build reading stamina. Kids learn how a story works, how characters work. You get a sense of ownership with a series. I felt the characters in the baby sitter clubs were my friends.

Is there a Jewish component in your writing?
Most of the characters I write about are Jewish in my head but I don’t make a point of it. I think it’s important that being Jewish is not a big deal. In my first book [“Standing for Socks,” Athenian] Judiasm comes up. Farrah is Jewish and her friend gets her something for Hanukah, not Christmas. People are different religions – it doesn’t have to be the main event.

You’re from New York. What’s it like living in Baltimore?
Baltimore is a livable city. It takes a little while to know. It’s a casual city, full of neighborhoods where you don’t’ have to impress anyone.

I live in Federal Hill and before I had my baby, I didn’t realize how many young families there were here. Now, I get together [on a regular basis] with a group of new Moms. There are 25 of us …with kids under 8 months…with first babies.

Anything else?
As a kid, I interviewed Gordon Korman. I wrote a letter to him after I got published. I told him, ‘I interviewed you when I was 11 and you inspired me.’ He wrote back, ‘I’m glad a former fan is now the competition.’