Cynthia Voigt grew up in New England where she attended Dana Hall School and Smith College in Massachusetts. Although she always wanted to be a writer, out of necessity she became a teacher and discovered that she loved teaching English and classics. However, Voigt continued writing despite the fact that her manuscripts were regularly rejected. Then, when she was thirty-seven years old, her first book was published. Homecoming was the first in a series of seven books about the Tillerman family. It was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association and was nominated for the American Book Award.

Later writings have been enjoyed by young people and praised by critics.

Voigt has received the Newbery Medal and the Edgar Allan Poe Award, and her books have been named as Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Books. In 1989 she received the ALAN...