Kathryn Stockett

As a young girl living in Jackson, Mississippi, Kathryn Stockett loved spending time with her family’s maid Demetrie, an African-American woman who worked for her family since 1955. Demetrie would play games with Stockett, tell her stories, and shower her with affection. But the young Stockett also witnessed the discrimination that Demetrie faced working for a white family. Stockett’s family forced Demetrie to use a separate bathroom and to sit by herself while eating lunch. After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and creative writing, Stockett moved to New York City where she turned these complicated experiences with Demetrie into her first novel, The Help. Rejected by over fifty publishers, the book, once published, sold over ten million copies and spent more than a hundred weeks on the The New York Times Best Seller list. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia.