Laura Ruby writes fiction for adults, teens and children. She is the author of the Printz Medal Winning novel Bone Gap, as well as the novel Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All, both National Book Award Finalists. Other works include the Edgar-nominated children’s mystery Lily’s Ghost, the ALA Quick Pick for teens Good Girls (2006), a collection of interconnected short stories about blended families for adults, I’m Not Julia Roberts (2007), and the York trilogy. She is on the faculty of Hamline University’s Masters in Writing for Children Program. She makes her home in the Chicago area.
Laura has been a featured speaker at BookExpo, The American Library Association’s national convention, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention, the Miami Book Festival, the Florida Association of Media Educators (FAME) convention, the Midwest Literary Festival, the International Reading Association’s annual convention, and the Illinois Reading Council annual conference, among other venues, and she has presented programs and workshops for both adults and children at numerous schools and libraries.
“Laura has never forgotten what it was like to be a kid mesmerized by stories and storytelling. She effectively illustrated her love for all things mythical, magical, and historical in her presentation and never left us with any doubt about the power of books to transport and transform us. Laura’s presentation and class visits encouraged many a budding student writer; faculty and student response has been universally positive with a constant refrain being, ‘Where did you find her?’” — Mary Edmonds, Chatham Hall, 2023
