It's election eve, Ivy Leaguers, and we at IvyGate are hoping that you'll all go out and vote tomorrow for Obama.  But until the polls open, you'll need something to do with your lives (besides eating half-off Halloween candy from the grocery store), and we humbly suggest that you check out YA For Obama.  YA For Obama is a social networking site created by young adult (YA) novelist Maureen Johnson (Columbia SOA '03).  It's also the website where both Judy Blume and the creator of Gossip Girl officially endorse IvyGate's favorite candidate.  We sat down with Maureen Johnson to find out how she came up with the idea for a political website that targets, well, people who aren't old enough to vote (aka next year's doe-eyed frosh).  Check out the interview after the jump:

IG: What is YA For Obama?

MJ: YA for Obama is a social networking site, featuring content from a wide variety of Young Adult authors, many of which are multi award-winning bestsellers. Just a few of our supporters and contributors: Judy Blume, Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries), Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles), Megan McCafferty (Sloppy Firsts), Scott Westerfeld (Uglies), John Green (Paper Towns), Libba Bray (A Great and Terrible Beauty), and Cecily Von Ziegesar (Gossip Girl).  YA for Obama is also a social networking site, so readers can become members and add their own content (blogs, photos, videos), participate in forums, and chat online. So along with blogs from all of the authors, we have blogs from readers of all ages and backgrounds.

IG: How did you come up with the idea?

MJ: It was a real 2 AM thing. Sometime in late July, I was sitting on the floor at the apartment of two other writers. There were a bunch of YA writers there, and we were all talking about the election. Again. Like millions of other people, we were obsessed, and we all supported Obama. I just realized that there was a huge amount of potential--so many writers, so many readers, so many people wanting to do something. I just started talking about a making a site that put it all together, and someone said, "That's a good idea, you should do that." And I said, "Yeah, I should." It was one of those rare 2 AM ideas that seems just as good when you wake up the next morning.

IG: How did you go from YA author to political forum creator?

MJ: At Columbia, I was actually a non-fiction student, so I'm getting back to the kind of essays I used to write all the time. But I don't think it's a very far jump to go from novelist to political forum creator. Novelists are rarely just novelists. (Not that having writing as your sole occupation is a problem in political discourse, either. Every political team has a bevy of writers on staff.) The writers on the site comes from a variety different backgrounds--science, math, medicine, Hollywood, journalism, education . . . So we have a really wide variety of material.  But again, as for me, it's just a common sense thing. I'm a writer. This is something I could do, so I did it.

IG: How has the response been?

MJ: Extremely positive. I can barely keep up with the amount of material coming in, the notes I get from readers, the questions I get from people wanting to know more. This is a unique moment. Millions of us are completely tuned in, and our desire to work together is strong.

IG: Why create a political forum focusing on a demographic that isn't old enough to vote?

MJ: We have members of all ages. But the reason to make sure there is a place for readers under 18 is simple: they don't have ballots, but they have a role. For a start, some people are literally missing this election by months or weeks or DAYS. I would be insane with rage if I was 17 right now, so close to being able to vote.

Also, people under 18 are working for the campaign. Working hard. Going door to door. Making calls. Talking to people in their families, neighborhoods, and schools. Some of them are working almost 40 hours a week for Obama. We have kids out there working the streets in the Ozarks, in real Republican country. That takes guts.

I would love some IvyGate readers to come over and join. I think you could offer some excellent ideas and advice to some already highly motivated and intelligent kids. Bring your brains.

IG: Do you consider YA For Obama a sort of antidote to the celebrity endorsements of candidates?

MJ: It's funny, some people see it as exactly that. We got a lot of press in the two weeks, from places like New York Magazine, The New York Observer, Jossip, Gawker, Jezebel . . . and they were all fixated on the fact that we had people like Judy Blume and Cecily Von Ziegesar. Which, to be honest, is pretty much what I expected. You have to have fun with expectations and work with that kind of attention. We're the only site where you can get Gossip Girl's official endorsement right along with a mathematical analysis of the economic policies of Democratic administrations dating back to FDR. We are a full-service site.

IG: What's next for the Ning? What are you planning to do with YA For Obama after the election?

MJ: I honestly don't have a clue. The project always lead up to one day--November 4th. It's been very organic in its development. I suppose I'll wait and see what kind of world we wake up on on the 5th and see what needs to happen next.

IG: Thanks, Maureen!