Mildred D. TaylorΒ is the author of nine novels includingΒ The Road to Memphis,Β Let the Circle Be Unbroken,Β The Land,Β The Well, andΒ Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Her books have won numerous awards, among them a Newbery Medal (forΒ Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry), four Coretta Scott King Awards, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Her bookΒ The LandΒ was awarded theΒ L.A. TimesΒ Book Prize and the PEN Award for Children's Literature. In 2003, Ms. Taylor was named the First Laureate of the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature. Ms. Taylor now devotes her time to her family, writing, and what she terms "the family ranch" in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.