Laura Ruby is the author of twelve books, including ''Bone Gap'', winner of the 2016 Printz Award and finalist for the 2015

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

. ''Bone Gap'' is a coming-of-age mystery about a kidnapping in a small Midwestern town, and it incorporates elements of mythology and magical realism. ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' called it a "lush and original young adult novel". In an interview with ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', Ruby characterized her award-winning novel as an "oddball" book that doesn't fit neatly into one genre.

Biography

Ruby grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in the Chicago area. She is a faculty member at

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline ...

in the low-residency MFA program in writing for children and young adults. She teaches fantasy writing workshops for children's authors at Highlights.

Awards and honors

Seven of Ruby's books are

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and H ...

selections: ''Bone Gap'' (audiobook and book) (2015), ''The Shadow Cipher'' (2017), ''The Clockwork Ghost'' (2019), ''Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All'' (audiobook and book) (2020), and ''The Map of Stars'' (2020). In 2015, '' Bone Gap'' was named one of the best books of the year by

Bank Street College of Education Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 full ...

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, two regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the ...

, ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'', the New York Public Library, ''Publishers Weekly'', and ''School Library Journal''. In 2017, ''The Shadow Cipher'' was named one of the best books of the year by the Chicago Public Library, New York Public Library, and

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the large ...

. In 2019, ''Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All'' was named one of the best books of the year by the Chicago Public Library, ''Locus'',

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, ''School Library Journal'', ''Shelf Awareness'', and

Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...

Published works

Standalone books

*''Lily’s Ghosts'' (2003) *''Everything I Wanted to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume'' (2006) *''I'm Not Julia Roberts'' (2007) *''Good Girls'' (2006) *''Play Me'' (2008) *''Bad Apple'' (2009) *''Bone Gap'' (2015) *''York: The Shadow Cipher'' (2017) *''York: The Clockwork Ghost'' (2019) *'' Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All'' (2019) *''York: The Map of Stars'' (2020)

''The Wall and the Wing'' series

* ''The Wall and the Wing'' (2006) * ''The Chaos King'' (2007)

References

External links

Official websiteOne Thing Leads to Another: An Interview with Laura Ruby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruby, Laura Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American novelists Hamline University faculty American women novelists 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Minnesota American women academics