Gennifer Choldenko

Choldenko was born in Santa Monica, California, the youngest of four children. One of her older sisters, Gina, had severe autism, and Choldenko based the character of Natalie partially on Gina. After earning a BA from Brandeis University in English and American Literature and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in illustration, she held numerous odd jobs, including working in sales and teaching horseback riding to hearing and visually impaired children. Though Choldenko notes that she comes from a long line of writers and has always loved writing, she only began writing professionally in 1997, when she published her first picture book. She began writing novels in 2001, and her second novel, Al Capone Does My Shirts, was a Newbery Honor book. Choldenko has written a number of novels for children and teens since then, including three more in the Alcatraz series, as well as several picture books. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.