Susan Cooper

English author Susan Cooper (pictured below left) has a wide variety of literary creations under her belt. She's written children's books, biographies, novels, screenplays, newspaper articles, and a Broadway play. She was the first woman to ever be the editor of Oxford's magazine, Cherwell.

Cooper was born in England in 1935. She attended Oxford, eventually receiving a master's degree in English. Upon graduation, she worked for London's The Sunday Times. Her first boss there was fellow notable Ian Fleming.

On the weekends, she worked on her novels, first endeavoring to write a science fiction novel. She eventually moved to the United States after marrying an American professor. It was there that she wrote her most famous series, The Dark is Rising.

After completing the series, she began working in theater, writing scripts for a variety of theaters. Her play, Foxfire, went to Broadway where the lead female role was played by Jessica Tandy-an actress who would win a Tony for her performance in the show. She later wrote a screenplay at the request of Jane Fonda, an actress who would win an Emmy for her role in Cooper's screenplay.

Cooper returned to writing children's picture books and novels and continues to create her own flavor of fantasy literature for young people.

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