Elaine Lobl (E. L.) Konigsburg was born in 1930, and her writing career spanned several decades until her death in 2013. She was born in New York and spent much of her childhood in small mill towns in Western Pennsylvania. After pursuing a degree in chemistry, she became a science teacher until she had children. After her children started school, Konigsburg revisited two passions from her childhood—painting and writing—and her writing career was born, with many of her books incorporating her drawings as well.

Konigsburg’s career did not experience a single peak and was instead celebrated and awarded throughout her lifetime. Konigsburg continued producing profound and deeply affecting work with each new title she wrote. Her stories draw on real-world inspiration and her own life to shed light on the difficult issues facing adolescents. She aspired to write about ordinary children growing up, and the realism of her books grew out of her imagining “what if” scenarios with her children and grandchildren. This realism has helped her books remain a relevant voice for adolescents and children decades after their publication.

Since adolescence can be a time of isolation and confusion, stories that are not afraid to broach painful and often traumatic subjects like child abuse and neglect can help those experiencing it feel less alone.