21 Facts About Lois Duncan

1.

Lois Duncan Steinmetz, known as Lois Duncan, was an American writer, novelist, poet, and journalist.

2.

Lois Duncan is best known for her young-adult novels, and has been credited by historians as a pioneering figure in the development of young-adult fiction, particularly in the genres of horror, thriller, and suspense.

3.

Lois Duncan received the 1992 Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her contribution to writing for teens.

4.

Lois Duncan Steinmetz was born on April 28,1934, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the first child of Lois Duncan and Joseph Janney Steinmetz.

5.

Lois Duncan spent her early life in Pennsylvania, relocating in her late childhood to Sarasota, Florida, where her parents resumed their employment as circus photographers.

6.

Lois Duncan's experience growing up in this environment eventually served as the basis of her picture books The Circus Comes Home and Song of the Circus.

7.

Lois Duncan described herself as a "shy, fat little girl," a "bookworm and dreamer", who spent her childhood playing in the woods.

8.

Lois Duncan cited The Princess and the Goblin and The Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins series among her favorite novels as a child.

9.

Lois Duncan started writing and submitting manuscripts to magazines at age 10, and sold her first story at the age of 13.

10.

At age 15, Lois Duncan was photographed by her father posed at Siesta Key, and the photo appeared on the cover of the July 9,1949, issue of Collier's magazine.

11.

Lois Duncan published her first novel, Love Song for Joyce, in 1958 under the pen name Lois Kerry, followed by Debutante Hill in 1959; the latter was initially rejected for a literary prize because it featured an adolescent character drinking a beer.

12.

In 1962, Lois Duncan moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her children after divorcing her first husband, Joseph Cardozo, and supported herself writing greeting cards and fictional confessionals for pulp magazines.

13.

In 1978, Lois Duncan published the controversial Killing Mr Griffin, a novel that details three high-school students' murder of their English teacher.

14.

In 1988 and 1989, Lois Duncan published the thriller novels The Twisted Window and Don't Look Behind You, respectively.

15.

From 1987 to 1989, Lois Duncan wrote several picture books for young children, some paired with audio CDs of songs for children, including Songs from Dreamland, Dream Songs from Yesterday, Our Beautiful Day, and The Story of Christmas.

16.

The murder of Lois Duncan's daughter marked a shift in her writing, and she spent the remainder of her career writing thematically lighter material, mainly children's chapter and picture books.

17.

Lois Duncan published her second collection of poetry in 2007, titled Seasons of the Heart.

18.

Lois Duncan had three children with her first husband, Joseph Cardozo: daughters Robin and Kerry, and son Brett.

19.

On June 15,2016, at the age of 82, Lois Duncan died at her home in Bradenton, Florida, of undisclosed causes.

20.

Lois Duncan won the annual award in 1992 and the Young Adult Librarians now name six books published from 1966 to 1987, the autobiographical Chapters and five novels: Ransom, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Summer of Fear, Killing Mr Griffin, and The Twisted Window.

21.

In 2014, Lois Duncan was awarded the Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America alongside James Ellroy in New York City.