Cynthia Hand

Cynthia Hand is a bestselling American author, well-known for her books in the young adult fantasy and historical romance genres. She is a native of southeast Idaho, where she developed a love for reading and writing at a young age. Hand wrote her first short story when she was six years old and continued to write throughout her school years, often submitting fantastical stories about supernatural beings and creatures. Despite not winning any school writing contests, Hand persisted in her writing, eventually forming a writing group in middle school and high school with her friends, where they wrote fan fiction based on their favorite novels and movies.

Hand attended the College of Idaho, where she majored in English with a pre-law emphasis. However, after realizing that she did not want to be a lawyer, she changed her focus to applying to M.F.A. programs in creative writing. She was accepted into Boise State University's M.F.A. program, where she fell in love with literary fiction and teaching. While at Boise State, Hand taped pictures of her favorite literary authors to the edges of her computer screen to remind herself of greatness every time she sat down to write. After graduating with an M.F.A., Hand attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she met her future husband, the writer and poet John Struloeff, published her first short story, and connected with her agent.

Hand's literary career took off with the publication of her first book, "Unearthly," which was a New York Times bestseller. She has since written several more books for teens, including "The Last Time We Say Goodbye," "My Lady Jane," "My Plain Jane," "My Calamity Jane," "My Contrary Mary," "My Imaginary Mary," "The Afterlife of Holly Chase," "The How and The Why," "With You All The Way," and the upcoming "Timeless" and "My Salty Mary." Hand currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with her husband, two kids, and a variety of pets. She is a part-time lecturer at Pepperdine University, where she teaches creative writing. Hand continues to write, often collaborating with fellow authors Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows.