American author Judy Blume was born on this day in 1938. She is a beloved author of dozens of books for children and young adults, including such titles as Are You There God, it’s Me, Margaret and Then Again, Maybe I Won’t.
Judy Blume
Category: Writers and Writing
JD Salinger
The author of The Catcher in the Rye was born on this day in 1919.
Roch Carrier
Canadian author Roch Carrier was born on this day in 1933 in Sainte-Justine, Quebec. Sainte Justine is the setting for Carrier’s most famous story, “The Hockey Sweater.” Along with many other achievements and honours, Roch Carrier served as Canada’s National Librarian.
Rebecca Stead
The 2010 Newberry Medal winning author of When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead, was born on this day in 1968.
Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking, Physicist, Simpsons’ Guest Star and Author of A Brief History of Time, was born on this day in 1942.
Jane Austen
The English writer Jane Austen was born on this day in 1775. Her books, including Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility, are so beloved that in recent decades there have been scores of books and films based on Jane Austen’s novels, her life, and her fans, including adaptations, biographies, sequels and mashups.
Katherine Paterson
Author Katherine Paterson was born on this day in 1932. She is the author of two Newberry Medal winning novels, Jacob Have I Loved and Bridge to Terabithia. She has also written many other fine novels for children and young adults.
J.R.R. Tolkien
One of the most popular authors of the 20th Century, J.R.R. Tolkien was born to English parents in 1892 in Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State. The family moved back to Britain at age 3. He studied at Oxford and eventually taught there as well. He would go to author some of the English language’s most read books, including The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. For more on Tolkien, click here.
Tamora Pierce
Prolific Fantasy author Tamora Pierce was born on this day in 1953.
Jo Walton
Writer Jo Walton was born on this day in Wales in 1964. She is the author of many different award winning fantasy, science fiction and speculative fiction books. Her novel Farthing, set in a Britain that has descended into the horrors of fascism, is the first book in an alternative history series that includes Ha’penny and Half a Crown. Walton has lived in Canada for more than a decade.
Elie Wiesel
Writer, humanitarian, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was born on this day in 1928 in Romania. Check out some of his books and learn more about this amazing person.
Harper Lee
The author of To Kill a Mockingbird was born on this day in 1926. When her novel, a seminal work examining racism in the US, was denounced by one school board as “immoral,” she responded by saying, “what I’ve heard makes me wonder if any of its members can read.”
Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library 