Although he lives in Indianapolis, John Green must love the South. This week, the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg announced that the bestselling author has donated his papers to the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection there, one of the largest such collections in North America. It holds over 160,000 books, the oldest dating back to 1530.
The papers include rough drafts of Green’s five YA novels, from his debut, Looking for Alaska (Dutton, 2005) to The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton, 2012). The papers also include drafts of his short stories and other writings.
“Green visited campus for the annual Kaigler Children’s Book Festival [in 2009], explained Paige Gray, a Ph.D. candidate in USM’s English Department, who works in the archives under the supervision of the de Grummond’s curator, Ellen Ruffin, when PW asked if Green, an Indianapolis native who has spent much of his life in the Midwest, had any previous personal connection to Southern Miss or to the de Grummond collection.
And the South loves John Green too. Last week, one of the highlights of Winter Institute 10 for the 500 booksellers attending it in Asheville, N.C., was the world premiere of the song “John Green,” performed by The Little Shop of Players, a quartet consisting of booksellers at The Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Ga. Little Shop of Stories co-owner David Shallenberger played the guitar while co-owner Diane Capriola, assistant manager Sunny Bowles, and weekend manager Kimberly Jones sang.
The song, sung to the tune of “Wild Thing” by The Troggs, was written by Capriola and Bowles to introduce Green before his Monday afternoon keynote, “On We Go: Some Thoughts on the Last Ten Years and the Next Ten Years.”
The lyrics are published below, with permission by The Little Shop of Stories.
“John Green” © Diane Capriola and Sunny Bowles
John Green, you make me heart sing
You make the register ring ring ring, c’mon John Green
John Green I think I love you
But I wanna know for sure
Dude, when are you gonna write another book?
C’mon move me
John Green, you make me heart sing
You make the register ring ring ring, c’mon John Green
John Green I think I love you
But I wanna know for sure
We love you, but seriously dude, what are you waiting for?
C’mon move me
John Green, you make me heart sing
You make the register ring ring ring, c’mon John Green
Don't forget to be awesome!
