Susan Beth Pfeffer (born February 17, 1948) is a retired American author best known for
young adult
A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
. After writing for 35 years, she received wider notice for her series of post-apocalyptic novels, officially titled "The Life As We Knew It Series", but often called "The Last Survivors" or "Moon Crash" series, some of which have appeared on the
New York Times Bestselling List
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
.
Background
Pfeffer was born in New York City, the daughter of
Leo Pfeffer, a lawyer and professor, and his wife, Freda ''nee'' Plotkin. She began writing stories as a child. She published her first book, ''Just Morgan'', in 1970, when she was a senior at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
["Susan Beth Pfeffer Biography"]
Bookbrowse.com, July 2, 2011, accessed June 21, 2014 After college, she moved to
Middletown, New York, where she still lives, and continued to write full-time. She has published more than 75 books.
["Interview with Author Susan Beth Pfeffer"]
Inkweaver Review, April 27, 2009, accessed June 21, 2014
Pfeffer's books cover the range of children's literature from picture books to young-adult novels. They include biographies for younger readers, and both historical, such as the ''Portraits of Little Women'' series, and contemporary fiction. She also wrote a book for adults about how to write for children. ''About David'' (1980) and ''The Year Without Michael'' (1987) are two of her books that have received critical notice.
[ Pfeffer says that she enjoys writing about family dynamics."Author Interview: Susan Beth Pfeffer"]
The Bookwars, November 4, 2013 Pfeffer achieved wider notice with her 2006 book ''
Life as We Knew It'', a bestseller. This became the first of her ''Moon Crash'' series.
[ Pfeffer cites the film '']Meteor
A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space.
Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...
'' as inspiration for the ''Moon Crash'' series.
Works
*''Just Morgan'' (1970)
*''Better Than All Right'' (1972)
*''Rainbows & Fireworks'' (1973)
*''The Beauty Queen'' (1974)
*''Whatever Words You Want to Hear'' (1974)
*''Marly the Kid'' (1975)
*''Kid Power'' (1977)
*''Starring Peter and Leigh'' (1979)
*''Awful Evelina'' (1979; picture book)
*''About David'' (1980)
*''Just Between Us'' (1980)
*''What Do You Do When Your Mouth Won't Open?'' (1981)
*''Starting with Melodie'' (1982)
*''A Matter of Principle'' (1982)
*''Courage, Dana'' (1983)
*''Truth or Dare'' (1984)
*''Kid Power Strikes Back'' (1984)
*''Fantasy Summer'' (1984)
*Make Me a Star series (1985–1986)
*''Getting Even'' (1986)
*''The Friendship Pact'' (1986)
*''The Year Without Michael'' (1987)
*''Thea at Sixteen'' (1988)
*''Rewind to Yesterday'' (1988)
*''Evvie at Sixteen'' (1988; Sebastian Sisters series)
*''Turning Thirteen'' (1988)
*''Future Forward'' (1989)
*''Claire at Sixteen'' (1989)
*''Sybil at Sixteen'' (1989)
*''Head of the Class
''Head of the Class'' is an American sitcom television series that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network.
The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program (IHP) at the fictional Millard Fillmor ...
(1989)
*''Dear Dad, Love Laurie'' (1989)
*''April Upstairs'' (1990)
*''Most Precious Blood'' (1990)
*''Meg at Sixteen'' (1990)
*''Darcy Downstairs'' (1990)
*''Twin Surprises'' (1991; picture book)
*''Family of Strangers'' (1992)
*''Twin Troubles'' (1992; picture book)
*''Make Believe'' (1993)
*''The Ring of Truth'' (1993)
*''The Riddle Streak'' (1993)
*''Twice Taken'' (1994)
*''Sara Kate, Superkid'' (1994)
*''Nobody's Daughter'' (1995)
*''Sara Kate Saves the World'' (1995)
*''The Pizza Puzzle'' (1996)
*''The Trouble With Wishes'' (1996)
*''Meg's Story'' (1997; Portraits of Little Women series)
*''Jo's Story'' (1997)
*''Beth's Story'' (1997)
*''Amy's Story'' (1997)
*''Justice for Emily'' (1997)
*''Meg Makes a Friend'' (1998)
*''Jo Makes a Friend'' (1998)
*''Beth Makes a Friend'' (1998)
*''Amy Makes a Friend'' (1998)
*''Devil's Den'' (1998)
*''A Gift for Meg'' (1999)
*''A Gift for Beth'' (1999)
*''A Gift for Jo'' (1999)
*''A Gift for Amy'' (1999)
*''Revenge of the Aztecs'' (2000)
*''Blood wounds'' (2011)
Moon Crash Series/The Last Survivors/Life As We Knew It Series
*'' Life as We Knew It'' (2006), Harcourt Children's Books .
*''The Dead and the Gone
''The Dead and the Gone'' is a young adult novel, young adult science fiction utopian and dystopian fiction, dystopian novel by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Released in hardcover in May 2008, it is the second book in The Last Survivors, following ''Life as ...
'' (2008), Harcourt Children's Books .
*'' This World We Live In'' (2010), Harcourt Children's Books .
*''The Shade of the Moon
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (2013), Harcourt Children's Books, .
Short stories
She also wrote some short stories such as ''As it is with Strangers''.
Awards
Pfeffer's books have won the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award) annually recognizes one new American children's book selected by the vote of Vermont schoolchildren. It was inaugurated in 1957.
The award is co-spon ...
, the Buxtehude Bull prize and been named awarded an American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
The American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommendation list of books presented yearly by the YALSA division (Young Adult Library Services Association
Th ...
(2007) and Teens’ Top Ten Booklist in 2007. She was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award
The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction (formerly the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy) is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to the ...
, Quill Awards and Hal Clement Award.
References
Sources
*Crossen, C. (October 24, 2008). "Adviser: Dear Booklover". Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition). p. W.2. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global.
*Goodnow, C. (December 18, 2008). "Profits of Doom: Teen Readers are eating up Post-Apocalyptic Tales". ''Seattle Post - Intelligencer''. p. B.1. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from Business Dateline.
*John, G. (2008). "Scary New World". ''New York Times Book Review''. p. 30. Retrieved via EBSCOhost database, April 6, 2010.
*"Must-Reads Blend Fright, Fun". (January 26, 2009). ''The Washington Post''. p. B.2. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from Business Dateline.
*Springen, K. (February 2010). "Apocalypse Now". ''Publishers Weekly''. p. 21. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global.
*Woolingtons, R. (March 11, 2010). "Book Wars Come to High School. The popular reading competition opens to older students". ''The Register - Guard''. p. L.1. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from Business Dateline.
*Young Adult Library Services Association
"Best Book for Young Adults 2007"
American Library Association. Retrieved from web, April 6, 2010.
*Young Adult Library Services Association. (2007).
"Teens' Top Ten Booklist"
American Library Association. Retrieved from web, April 6, 2010.
External links
(up to 2000)
Podcast Interview
with Susan Beth Pfeffer at Scripts & Scribes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfeffer, Susan Beth
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American science fiction writers
American women novelists
Living people
1948 births
Women science fiction and fantasy writers
Writers from New York City
Writers of young adult science fiction
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
Novelists from New York (state)