Ann Matthews Martin (born August 12, 1955) is an American children's fiction writer, known best for '' The Baby-Sitters Club'' series.

Early life

Ann Matthews Martin grew up in

Princeton, NJ Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of wh ...

. Her mother, Eden Martin, was a preschool teacher and her father, Henry Martin, was a cartoonist for '' The New Yorker'' and other publications. Her mother's ancestry can be traced back to the pilgrims who traveled on the Mayflower in 1620. She has a younger sister, Jane. Martin developed an interest in writing from an early age. Before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll,

P. L. Travers Pamela Lyndon Travers (; born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-British writer who spent most of her career in England. She is best known for the ''Mary Poppins'' series of books, which feature the eponymous ...

Hugh Lofting Hugh John Lofting (14 January 1886 – 26 September 1947) was an English American writer trained as a civil engineer, who created the classic children's literature character Doctor Dolittle. The fictional physician to talking animals, based in a ...

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...

, and

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime Flying ace, fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. ...

. Martin loved creative writing in elementary school and discovered her passion for writing in second grade. She began writing short stories, and her fourth-grade teacher wrote on her student folder that she would make a wonderful writer because she spent so much of her free time writing in notebooks. Her favorite subjects in middle school and high school were English and French, and her least favorite was math. As a teen, Martin loved working with children and decided to become a teacher. She wanted to help children with disabilities, so she worked during the summer at the Eden Institute, a school for autistic children in her hometown. After graduating from

Princeton High School Princeton High School may refer to: * Princeton High School (Illinois), Princeton, Illinois * Princeton Community High School, Princeton, Indiana * Princeton High School (Minnesota), Princeton, Minnesota * Princeton Junior-Senior High School, Princ ...

in 1973, Martin attended Smith College from 1973 to 1977. She studied early-childhood education and child psychology. Her senior thesis was on the use of children's literature in the classroom. She lived in Gardiner House and wrote for Smith College newspaper, ''The Sophian.'' Describing her Smith education, Martin said “it was an environment of strong, independent women, both the students and the professors.” Her time at Smith influenced her identity as a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and inspired her to portray female characters who were like the women she knew in her own life.

Career

After graduating from Smith College, Martin taught in a split fourth and fifth-grade classroom at Plumfield School in

Noroton, Connecticut Noroton is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Darien, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It occupies the southwest part of Darien, from the Metro-North Railroad in the north to Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a ma ...

. Her students, ages 8–13, struggled with learning disabilities including dyslexia and autism. Martin has said that her work with special needs children influenced her writing. After teaching for a year, Martin decided to pursue publishing. She worked her way up from an editorial assistant to a senior editor, and she worked for several well-known children's book publishers, including Pocket Books and Scholastic. She is now a full-time writer. In 1983, Martin published her first book, ''

Bummer Summer ''Bummer Summer'' is Ann M. Martin's first novel. She started writing it in 1980 and it was published in 1983. Plot summary The central character A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that a ...

'', which earned the Children's Choice Award in 1985. She began writing '' The Baby-Sitters Club'' series in 1985 while working for Scholastic as a children's book editor. After Martin wrote the first 35 novels in '' The Baby-Sitters Club'' series, Scholastic hired ghostwriters to continue the series. She now concentrates on writing single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s. One of those novels, ''

A Corner of the Universe ''A Corner of the Universe'' is a 2002 young adult novel by Ann M. Martin. It won a Newbery Honor Award in 2003. Characters Hattie Owen: An 11-almost-12-year-old girl; protagonist who lives in and runs a boarding house. Adam Mercer: Hattie' ...

'', won a Newbery Honor in 2003. In 2010, Martin published a prequel to ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' series titled ''The Summer Before''. Martin finds the ideas for her books from many different sources; some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are about contemporary problems and struggles. All of her characters, including the members of ''The Baby-Sitters Club'', are fictional, but many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes she names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes. In 1990, Martin and her colleagues founded "The Lisa Libraries" to honor and memorialize their friend Lisa Novak. This non-profit organization distributes new books to children and establishes libraries in under-served areas. In the same year, Martin also founded the Ann M. Martin Foundation, which provides financial support for art, education, and literacy programs in addition to programs for abused and stray animals. Martin served as a producer for the 2020 Netflix adaptation of '' The Baby-Sitters Club.''

Personal life

Martin currently maintains a fairly quiet public profile. After living in New York City for many years, Martin moved to the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to Yo ...

in upstate New York, where she enjoys nature and fostering kittens. Martin posts semi-regular updates and snapshots of her life on her Facebook page. She stays busy with author appearances and adaptations of her works such as the Babysitters' Club graphic novels and network series. Martin was previously in a relationship with Laura Godwin, with whom she wrote the four Doll People books; she disclosed that Godwin was her partner in 2016.

Works

Standalone novels * ''

''(1983) * ''Inside Out ''(1984) * ''

Missing Since Monday ''Missing Since Monday'' () is a book written by Ann M. Martin in 1986. The story focuses on 16-year-old Maggie Ellis, the disappearance of her four-year-old sister Courtenay, and the subsequent effort to find the young girl. Characters *Maggie ...

'' (1986) * ''With and Without You ''(1986) * ''Just a Summer Romance'' (1987) * ''Slam Book'' (1987) * '' Yours Turly, Shirley'' (1988) * ''Ma and Pa Dracula'' (1989) * '' Belle Teal ''(2001) * ''

''(2002) * ''On Christmas Eve ''(2006) * ''Rain Reign ''(2014) Novels and sequels * ''Stage Fright'' (1984) * ''Me and Katie (The Pest) ''(1985) * '' Ten Kids, No Pets'' (1988) * '' Eleven Kids, One Summer'' (1991) * '' P.S. Longer Letter Later'' (1998), by Martin and

Paula Danziger Paula Danziger (August 18, 1944 – July 8, 2004) was an American children's author. She wrote more than 30 books, including her 1974 debut '' The Cat Ate My Gymsuit'', for children's and young adult audiences. At the time of her death, all her ...

* '' Snail Mail No More'' (1999), Martin and Danziger * '' A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray ''(2005) * ''Everything for a Dog'' (2009) * ''Ten Rules for Living with My Sister'' (2011) * ''Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life (So Far)'' (2012) Picture books * ''Rachel Parker, Kindergarten Showoff'' (1992) with illustrations by Nancy Poydar * ''Leo The Magnificat'' (1996) with illustrations by Emily Arnold McCully Short stories * ''8 x 2 = Sweet Sixteen'', a short story featuring Karen Brewer included in the children's anthology ''It's Great to Be Eight'' (2000) * ''The Lost Art of Letter Writing'', a short story included in the young adult anthology ''What You Wish For'' (2011) Other works * ''Because of Shoe and Other Dog Stories'' (edited) (2012) Series * ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' (1986–1990 and 2010) 35 volumes to 1990, continued by other writers with Martin *'' The Baby-Sitters Little Sister'' (1988 to 2000) *''The Kids in Ms. Colman's Class'' (1995 to 1998) 12 volumes * '' California Diaries'' (1997 to 2000) 15 volumes * '' Main Street'' (2007 to 2011) *#''Welcome to Camden Falls'' (2007) *#''Needle and Thread'' (2007) *#'''Tis the Season'' (2007) *#''Best Friends'' (2008) *#''The Secret Book Club'' (2008) *#''September Surprises'' (2008) *#''Keeping Secrets'' (2009) *#''Special Delivery'' (2009) *#''Coming Apart'' (2010) *#''Staying Together'' (2011) *'' The Doll People'' (2000 to 2008) – by Martin and Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick *#'' The Doll People'' (2000) *#'' The Meanest Doll in the World'' (2003) *#''The Runaway Dolls'' (2008) *#''The Doll People Set Sail'' (2014) *''Family Tree'' (2013-2014) *#''Better to Wish'' (2013) *#''The Long Way Home'' (2013) *#''Best Kept Secret'' (2014) *#''Home Is the Place'' (2014) * '' Missy Piggle-Wiggle'' (2016 to 2018) – by Martin and Annie Parnell, great-granddaughter of Betty MacDonald, who created Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle in 1947; illustrated by Ben Hatke.. Retrieved July 31, 2018. *#''Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Whatever Cure'' (2016) *#''Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Won't-Walk-the-Dog Cure'' (2017) *#''Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Sticky-Fingers Cure'' (2018)

References

External links

Ann M. Martin
at publisher Scholastic * ''Ann M. Martin'' by Margaret Becker, 1993 *
Ann M. Martin papers
at the Mortimer Rare Book Collection, Smith College Special Collections
Ann M. Martin Foundation

The Lisa Libraries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Ann Matthews 1955 births American children's writers American writers of young adult literature The Baby-Sitters Club Newbery Honor winners People from Princeton, New Jersey Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni Living people Smith College alumni 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women children's writers American women novelists Novelists from New Jersey Women writers of young adult literature American LGBT writers