Jacqueline Woodson was born in Columbus, Ohio on February 12, 1963 and grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and Brooklyn, New York. She received a B.A. in English from Adelphi University in 1985. She is a full-time writer and her books include Miracle's Boys, which won the Coretta Scott King Award in 2001 and After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers and Show Way, which won Newbery Honors. Her other awards include the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.