Lois Duncan

Lois Duncan is a renowned American author, born as Lois Duncan Steinmetz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 28, 1934. She is widely recognized for her books written for children and young adults, as well as crime thrillers for adults. Duncan has also used the pen name Lois Kerry throughout her career. Her parents were the distinguished magazine photographers Lois Steinmetz and Joseph Janney Steinmetz. Raised in Sarasota, Florida, Duncan demonstrated her passion for writing at a young age, submitting her first story to a magazine at the age of ten and achieving her first publication at thirteen. She regularly wrote for young people's publications throughout her high school years, particularly for Seventeen magazine.

As an adult, Duncan moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she taught magazine writing for the Journalism Department at the University of New Mexico. Over 300 of her articles and stories have been published in various magazines, including Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, McCall's, Good Housekeeping, and Reader's Digest. She was a contributing editor for Woman's Day for many years. Duncan is the author of over 50 books, ranging from children's picture books to poetry to adult non-fiction. However, she is best known for her young adult suspense novels, which have garnered Young Readers Awards in 16 states and three foreign countries. In 1992, she received the Margaret A. Edwards Award, presented by the School Library Journal and the ALA Young Adult Library Services Association for her distinguished body of adolescent literature. In 2009, she was awarded the Katharine Drexel Award, given by the Catholic Library Association for her outstanding contribution to the growth of high school and young adult librarianship and literature. In 2015, she was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

Several of Duncan's novels have been adapted for the screen. The 1997 film I Know What You Did Last Summer was based on her novel of the same title, and the 2009 movie Hotel for Dogs was inspired by her children's book. The novel Who Killed My Daughter? documents the unsolved murder of Duncan's youngest child, Kaitlyn Arquette, who was killed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1989. The case remains an ongoing personal investigation for the family, with information available on the Internet at kaitarquette.arquettes.com. Duncan's personal webpage can be found at loisduncan.arquettes.com.