Norma Fox Mazer was born May 15, 1931, in New York City, and grew up in Glen Falls, New York. She always had a lively imagination, and in high school first began seriously to write, when she became editor of her high school newspaper, and a correspondent for the town newspaper. After a year in Antioch College, she married Harry Mazer, who also became an author. They both worked at mundane jobs while their three children were growing up. To help support the family Norma and her husband both wrote pulp fiction for women's romance and confession market--stories written in the first person to give the impression the author had actually experienced the events being described. They wrote a 5000-8000 word story every week, which left little time for novel writing. In 1970 Norma Mazer finally found time to write a novel, I, Trissy, which was published the following year and eventually received a National Book Award nomination. This began a free-lancing career for her. She wrote several collections of short stories, which were well received, but she is chiefly known for her novels. A critic has observed that Mazer writes about the everyday scenes of her characters in images that are scalpel sharp, and that she can get to the very heart of teen-age problems. She clearly knows the world about which she writes. Mazer herself feels that fiction is extremely important in today's world, as a means to give readers respite from the many overwhelming realities. She has received many honors and awards for her writing, including a Newbery Honor for .

Biographical Sources: Something About the Author, vols. 24, 67, 105; Something About the Author Autobiography Series, Vol. 1 Children's Literature Review, Vol. 23