Laura Ruby is an American author of twelve books, including '' Bone Gap'' (2015), winner of the 2016 Michael L. Printz Award and finalist for the 2015

National Book Award for Young People's Literature The National Book Award for Young People's Literature is one of five annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation (NBF) to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writer ...

. She is also a professor at

Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...

. ''Bone Gap'' is a

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

mystery about a kidnapping in a small

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

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 New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and now lives in the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

. She is a faculty member at

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

Ruby's books and audiobooks constitute seven

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial Book sales club, 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 Samue ...

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,

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

, '' Locus'', the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

, ''

'', and ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

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

Shelf Awareness Shelf Awareness is an American publishing company that produces two e-zines focused on bookselling, books, and book reviews: ''Shelf Awareness'' is aimed at general consumers, while ''Shelf Awareness Pro'' caters for industry professionals. ...

'', and

Tor.com ''Reactor'', formerly ''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 specul ...

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) *'' Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All'' (2019)

''York'' series

* ''York: The Shadow Cipher'' (2017) *''York: The Clockwork Ghost'' (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 website
*
One 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 Michael L. Printz Award winners