Jane Yolen

Jane Hyatt Yolen (February 11, 1939 – June 11, 2026) was an American writer of fantasy, science fiction and children's books best known for The Devil's Arithmetic, a Holocaust novella. Her other works include the Nebula Award–winning short works "Sister Emily's Lightship" and "Lost Girls", Owl Moon, The Emperor and the Kite, and the Commander Toad series. She also worked as an editor and collaborated on works with all three of her children, most extensively with Adam Stemple. Yolen delivered the inaugural Alice G. Smith Lecture at the University of South Florida in 1989. In 2012 she became the first woman to give the Andrew Lang lecture. Yolen published her 400th book in early 2021, Bear Outside. Her 450th (and final) book, Terror Birds, was published posthumously on July 14, 2026.