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Lois Duncan |
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Lois Duncan |
| "I can't remember a time when I didn't think of myself as a writer,"
says Lois Duncan, one of the most popular young adult authors. Her
success is founded on her novels of psychological suspense. She says, "...these
are what I enjoy writing the most. It's like a game. You develop a group
of interesting characters, set them up in a situation, make something startling
happen, and watch to see what they do. Each day is a new adventure."
Duncan published her first story when she was 13 years old. Throughout
high school, she published articles in teen magazines, particularly Seventeen.
She always wrote about the things that were happening in her life. At age
19, Duncan married, but after 9 years of marriage and three children, she
was divorced. In order to support her family, Duncan began to submit her
writing to publishers and magazine editors. She even wrote greeting cards.
Over 300 of her articles and short stories appeared in such publications
as Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, McCall's, Good
Housekeeping, and Reader's Digest, and for a number of years
she was a contributing editor for Woman's Day.
Duncan is the author of over 40 books, ranging from children's picture books to adult novels. Many of these have been chosen as ALA "Best Books for Young Adults" and Jr. Library Guild Selections, and they have won Young Readers Awards in 16 states and three foreign countries. In 1992, Duncan was the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award, presented by the School Library Journal and the Young Adult Library Services Association, to honor a living author for a distinguished body of adolescent literature. Her books have been distingquished in other ways. Killing Mr. Griffin, one of her most popular books, is 64 in the ALA's list of the 100 of most challenged books of the 1990's. I Know What You Did Last Summer was recently made into a feature film. In 1989, in a bizarre case that is similar to the plot of her novel Don't Look Behind You, Lois' daughter Kait was killed in a drive by shooting. She chronicled her search for the murderer in her book, Who Killed My Daughter?. Lois Duncan was born in Philadelphia, grew up in Florida, and graduated
from the University of New Mexico.
Lois Duncan's Homepage
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| Don't Look Behind You
Down a Dark Hall Gallows Hill I Know What You Did Last Summer Killing Mr. Griffin Magic of Spider Woman Ransom Stranger with My Face Stuff of Magic Summer of Fear They Never Came Back Trapped Who Killed My Daughter? |