Patricia McCormick

Acclaimed author and journalist Patricia McCormick was born May 23, 1956, in Washington, D.C. Raised in Central Pennsylvania with devout Catholic parents, McCormick knew she wanted to be a writer from a young age, despite her parents’ concerns that writing wouldn’t provide her with enough stability. She attended Rosemont College, Columbia University, and the New School, earning an MS and MFA, and she has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award. To write the novel Sold (2006), McCormick conducted research in Southeast Asia, interviewing survivors of sex trafficking and their families and touring brothels in order to tell an authentic, realistic story about the subject. In 2014, Sold was adapted into a film of the same name, directed by Jeffrey D. Brown and starring Gillian Anderson, David Arquette, and Niyar Saikia. Following her success with young adult novels Cut (2000), Sold, and Never Fall Down (2012), McCormick co-authored Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai’s 2013 autobiography I Am Malala, a bestseller that received international acclaim. McCormick currently lives and writes in New York City.