John Coy is an award-winning author, who worked as a dishwasher, mattress maker, group home worker, and tour guide before taking up writing. He’s active in sports and is a member of the NBA Reading All-Star Team as part of the Read to Achieve program. John has traveled to all fifty states as well as to many countries internationally. He’s the author of the many picture books including Night Driving and Strong to the Hoop, young adult novels Crackback, Box Out, and his latest Top of the Order. John lives in Minneapolis and visits schools nationally and internationally, and he’ll be reading from Top of the Order at Micawber’s Books, 2238 Carter Ave. in St. Paul on Saturday (May 9th) at 1 p.m.

What book(s) are you currently reading?
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read on who we are as Americans and how we got here.

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Who?
Lucia Lambrico in Crackback. It’s first person narrator and I got heavily into the character.

If your favorite author came to Minnesota, who would it be and what bar would you take him/her to?
I’d take Christopher Paul Curtis, Chris Crutcher, and Sherman Alexie to St. Stephen’s gym for some basketball. All three can hoop. Afterwards, Town Hall Brewery would work fine as a place to talk trash.

What was your first favorite book?
Go, Dog. Go!

Let’s say Fahrenheit 451 comes to life, which book would you become in order to save it from annihilation?
Fahrenheit 451 might be helpful.

What is one book you haven’t read but want to read before you die?
That list is too long to long to narrow to one and new ones keep being added.