Mildred D. Taylor is the author of nine novels including┬аThe Road to Memphis,┬аLet the Circle Be Unbroken,┬аThe Land, and┬аRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.┬аHer books┬аhave won numerous awards, among them a Newbery Medal (for┬аRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry), four Coretta Scott King Awards, and a┬аBoston┬аGlobeтАФHorn Book┬аAward. Her book┬аThe Land┬аwas awarded the┬аL.A. Times┬аBook Prize and the PEN Award for ChildrenтАЩs Literature. In 2003, Ms. Taylor was named the First Laureate of the NSK Neustadt Prize for ChildrenтАЩs Literature.
Mildred Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and grew up in Toledo, Ohio. After graduating from the University of Toledo, she served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia for two years and then spent the next year traveling throughout the United States, working and recruiting for the Peace Corps. At the University of ColoradoтАЩs School of Journalism, she helped created a Black Studies program and taught in the program for two years. Ms. Taylor has worked as a proofreader-editor and as program coordinator for an international house and a community free school. She now devotes her time to her family, writing, and what she terms тАЬthe family ranchтАЭ in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.