Laurie Halse Anderson is an American writer, known for children's and young adult novels. She received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010 for her contribution to young adult literature. She was first recognized for her novel Speak, published in 1999. Early life Laurie Beth Halse was born October 23, 1961, 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. Anderson attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School, in Manlius, New York, a suburb of Syracuse. 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. 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. Years later, Anderson moved back to Mexico, New York, and rekindled feelings with her childhood sweetheart, Scot Larrabee. Anderson eventually married—and is still married to—Larrabee. Together, they combined their families—Anderson's two daughters and Larrabee's two children, Jessica and Christian. Career Anderson began her career as a freelance journalist and worked at The Philadelphia Inquirer in the early years of her career. 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, in 1996, based on Kenyan Olympic marathon runners who ran to and from school each day. 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. During her early career, Anderson wrote several pieces of non-fiction. The first was a children's book featuring Saudi Arabia. She also co-authored a book about parenting shy children with Dr. Ward Swallow. Selected texts Speak (1999) In 1999, Farrar, Straus and Giroux published Anderson's best-known novel to date, Speak. It was