Suzanne Jurmain

Born into a theatrical family, Suzanne Jurmain was four when she saw her mother perform Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" on the Broadway stage. A year later, Suzanne made her own acting debut on her father's critically acclaimed TV show, "Mr. I. Magination." Throughout her childhood and teens, she appeared professionally--often playing young villains or troubled kids--in television soap operas and dramas like "Ellery Queen," "The Verdict is Yours." and "Our Five Daughters." But, although she chose to study acting at New York City's High School of Performing Arts, Suzanne soon realized she was happiest with her nose in a book, a pen in her hand, and her mind on making up a story. This, coupled with a crazy curiosity about past times and other places, led her first to earn a Phi Beta Kappa key and an honors degree in English and history at UCLA and, later, to a job at what is now UCLA's Fowler Museum. There, while serving as a combination editor, tour guide, and public relations coordinator, Suzanne was able to work directly with scholars and explore the museum's rich collection of African, Asian, Pacific, and American art before leaving UCLA to read, write, and tell stories full time. Since becoming a freelance writer, she has combined her passion for storytelling, her fascination with fact, and her love of drama in a series of award-winning history books that take young readers on exciting, and--sometimes--funny journeys into the past. Described by critics as "thrilling," "thought-provoking," "immensely readable," "entertaining," and "meticulously research[ed]," her work has been honored by the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Library Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance, the Bank Street College of Education, the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards, and many others. The mother of two grown children, Suzanne now lives with her husband and a giant golden retriever in a California house that, not surprisingly, is bursting with books.