Deborah Hopkinson

Deborah Hopkinson is an American author of children’s literature, best known for her historical fiction and nonfiction books for young readers, including the picture book Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. She has written more than seventy books, spanning picture books, middle grade historical fiction, biographies, and long-form nonfiction, and her work frequently focuses on history and social themes. Her books have received numerous honors, including the Oregon Book Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, the Green Earth Book Award, a Sibert Honor, a Carter G. Woodson Honor, and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor.

A native of Lowell, Massachusetts, Hopkinson earned a B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree (M.A.) from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked for many years in academic fundraising and philanthropy at institutions including the University of Hawaiʻi, Oregon State University, Whitman College, and the Pacific Northwest College of Art. She lives in Oregon, near Portland, where she continues to write and speak to students and educators.