Nancy Springer has been a noted and prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction for many years and has written primarily for young adults. Springer was born on July 5, 1948, in Montclair, New Jersey, and she grew up in Pennsylvania. She earned a bachelor of arts at Gettysburg College in 1970, and then worked as a teacher from 1970 to 1971 and a writer from 1972 to the present day. She also worked as an instructor at several colleges and universities in the 1980s.

Springer has written nonfiction, poetry, short stories, and more than thirty novels for adults, young adults and children, and she has received numerous awards, including two Edgar Allan Poe awards from the Mystery Writers of America, one for her widely acclaimed young adult novel Toughing It. She has also received the James Tiptree Jr. Award for science fiction or fantasy that expands the roles of...