The Outsiders

S. E. Hinton

 

Susan Eloise Hinton was born on July 22, 1948 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  She is an American writer best known for her young-adult novels set in Oklahoma, especially The Outsiders, which she wrote during high school. In 1988 she received the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her contribution in writing for teens.  Susan was a very private person that is one reason why she used her initials for her name on her books. The other reason is because at that time there was not many female authors, so her publisher suggested that she use her initials so that male readers wouldn't push the book away because it was written by a girl. 

The Outsiders was inspired by two rival gangs at her school, Will Rogers High School, the Greasers and the Socs, and her desire to show sympathy toward the Greasers by writing from their point of view. It was published by Viking Press in 1967, during her freshman year at the University of Tulsa. Since then, the book has sold more than 14 million copies and still sells more than 500,000 a year.