Susan Beth Pfeffer is a celebrated author, born in New York City in 1948. She grew up in the city and its nearby suburbs, spending summers in the Catskill Mountains. Her father, a writer himself, published a book on constitutional law when Pfeffer was six, inspiring her to become a writer. She wrote her first story, about the love between an Oreo cookie and a pair of scissors, at that tender age. However, it wasn't until 1970 that her first book, "Just Morgan," was published. Since then, she has been a full-time writer for young people, producing a body of work that includes picture books, middle-grade and young-adult novels, and contemporary and historical fiction.
Pfeffer's writing career has been marked by critical acclaim and numerous awards. Her novel "About David" won the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award, while "The Year Without Michael" is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a winner of the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award. It was also named by the American Library Association as one of the hundred best books for teenagers written between 1968-1993. Pfeffer's work often explores challenging themes, such as dysfunctional families, teen murder, sexual harassment, suicide, and runaway or missing children. She has also written novels for young readers, dealing with similar themes. Despite her versatility, Pfeffer is best known for her young adult novels about young women dealing with adult problems that are on the cusp of understanding.
Living in Middletown, New York, with her two cats, Alexander and Emily, Pfeffer enjoys watching movies, both new and old, and collecting movie memorabilia, reading biographies and histories, and eating foods that are bad for her when she is not working. Her notable works include "Life As We Knew It" and "The Year Without Michael," both of which have received significant recognition, including being named the American Library Associations Young Adult Library Services Association Best Book for Young Adults 2007 and Teens’ Top Ten Booklist in 2007, and nominated for the Andre Norton Award, Quill Awards, Hal Clement Awards.