She was first recognized for her novel Speak, published in 1999.
Early life
Laurie Beth Halse was born October 23, 1961,[3] to Rev. Frank A. Halse Jr. and Joyce Holcomb Halse in Potsdam, New York. She grew up there with her younger sister, Lisa. As a student, she showed an early interest in writing, specifically during the second grade. Anderson enjoyed reading—especially science fiction and fantasy—as a teenager, but never envisioned herself becoming a writer.[4]
During Anderson's senior year, she moved out of her parents' house at the age of sixteen and lived as an exchange student for thirteen months on a pig farm in Denmark. After her experience in Denmark, Anderson moved back home to work at a clothing store, earning the minimum wage. This motivated her to attend college.[4]
Family
Laurie Halse Anderson married Greg Anderson. In 1985, they had their first child, Stephanie Holcomb. Two years later, they had their second child, Meredith Lauren. The couple later divorced.[6] Years later, Anderson moved back to Mexico, New York. She married Scot Larrabee. They combined their families — Anderson's two daughters and Larrabee's two children, Jessica and Christian.[7]
Career
Anderson began her career as a freelance journalist and worked at The Philadelphia Inquirer in the early years of her career.[8] During this time, Anderson also began to write children's and young adult novels. Despite receiving rejection letters, Anderson released her first children's novel, Ndito Runs,[9] in 1996, based on Kenyan Olympic marathon runners who ran to and from school each day.[4] Later that year, she had her story Turkey Pox published. This story was inspired by her daughter, Meredith, who broke out with chickenpox on Thanksgiving. In 1998, Anderson published No Time For Mother's Day, featuring the same characters.[4]
During her early career, Anderson wrote several pieces of non-fiction. The first was a children's book featuring Saudi Arabia. She co-authored a book about parenting shy children with Dr. Ward Swallow.[4]
In 2018, Anderson revealed that she was raped when she was thirteen years old, and the novel was based on her experience.[13] Anderson later wrote a memoir, Shout, about her life when she was a teenager, including details of her rape and the trauma she faced afterward.[14]
In 2002, after the publication of Fever 1793, Catalyst was published by Penguin under the Viking imprint.[16] The action takes place in the same high school as Speak and features cameo appearances by some of its characters. The book became a Barnes & Noble Best Teen Book of 2002 and an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.[17]
Thank You, Sarah! (2002)
Anderson's fiction picture book, Thank You, Sarah! The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving was published in 2002. The book received two starred reviews, and was named in the ALA Amelia Bloomer List and the Junior Library Guild Selection.[18]
Prom (2005)
In 2005, Anderson published Prom, which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list in early 2005.[10] The book received three starred reviews, was nominated for several state awards, and received national recognition from the American Library Association (ALA) and the International Reading Association.[19]
The second novel in the Seeds of America trilogy, Forge, was released in October 2010, by Simon and Schuster. The book received three starred reviews and became a Junior Library Guild Selection, a Kirkus Best Book for Teens: Historical Novels 2010, The Horn Book Fanfare List Best Book of 2010, and one of the Young Adult Library Services Association's (YALSA) 2011 Best Books for Young Adults.[22]
Wintergirls (2009)
Anderson later released Wintergirls in March 2009. The novel tells the story of two girls—one of whom is dead at the beginning—who have died from bulimia and anorexia. Wintergirls received five-star reviews and nominations for state awards, was named an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults, was a Junior Library Guild Selection,[23] and debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list .[24]Wintergirls has been published in over 15 different countries.
Awards and honors
The ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award recognizes one writer and a particular body of work "for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature." Anderson won the annual award in 2009, citing three novels published from 1999 to 2002: Speak, Fever 1793, and Catalyst. The ALA called the novels "gripping and exceptionally well-written" and the panel chair said that "Laurie Halse Anderson masterfully gives voice to teen characters undergoing transformations in their lives through their honesty and perseverance while finding the courage to be true to themselves."[1] In 2017, she received the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature, a career award presented by the Tulsa City-County Library.[25]
In 2023 Anderson won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award,[27] the one of the largest cash prizes in children's literature, with the motivation:
In her tightly written novels for young adults, Laurie Halse Anderson gives voice to the search for meaning, identity, and truth, both in the present and the past. Her darkly radiant realism reveals the vital role of time and memory in young people's lives. Pain and anxiety, yearning and love, class and sex are investigated with stylistic precision and dispassionate wit. With tender intensity, Laurie Halse Anderson evokes, moods, and emotions and never shies from even the hardest things.[2]
