Linda Sue Park

Born in Urbana, Illinois, children’s writer and poet Linda Sue Park grew up outside Chicago and earned a BA at Stanford University. She is the author of numerous novels, picture books, and poetry collections for children. Her work often uses historical settings and innovative forms to expand young readers’ sense of possibility; her poetry collection Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems) (2007), illustrated by Istvan Banyai, utilizes a Korean syllabic verse form to bring surprise and humor to everyday moments and objects.

Park's most recent book for young readers, The One Thing You’d Save (2021), is a story told through a series of linked poems. Park’s novels for teenage readers include Prairie Lotus (2020); A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story (2010); When My Name Was Keoko (2002), which was chosen as a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Bank Street; and Newbery Medalist A Single Shard (2001). Her picture books include Gurple and Preen (2020), illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi; Bee-bim Bop! (2005), illustrated by Ho Baek Lee; and The Firekeeper’s Son (2004), illustrated by Julie Downing. Park lives with her family in Rochester, New York.