Pam Muñoz Ryan

Pam Muñoz Ryan was born in Bakersfield, California. A rocky home situation meant that her mother remarried, and her family moved around town—throughout her childhood, books were a refuge for the young Pam. After college she took a job as a bilingual teacher, and eventually became the director of an early childhood education program in Southern California. When she took a writing class during a part-time master’s degree program, a teacher encouraged her to pursue writing. After facing several rejections from agents and publishers, Muñoz Ryan hit her stride and began publishing picture books and, later, novels for young adults. The author of over twenty books for young readers of all ages, Muñoz Ryan has been the recipient of awards, grants, and prizes from the American Library Association and the Newbery Medal, PEN USA, and the New York Historical Society. She lives with her family outside of San Diego.