Biography

Jasmine Warga is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of middle grade novels Other Words For Home, The Shape of Thunder, A Rover’s Story, and A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall. Her books have won several awards including, a John Newbery Honor, a Walter Honor for Young Readers, a Charlotte Huck Honor, the Ohioana Library award, and a Barnes & Noble Children’s and YA Book Award finalist. Additionally, they have been named to several state award lists. Jasmine is also the author of young adult novel, My Heart and Other Black Holes, which has been translated into over twenty different languages.

Jasmine grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She studied art history and history at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She briefly taught 6th grade science in Texas before going on to get her MFA in creative writing from Lesley University in Boston. She quickly discovered that writing for kids and teens was the perfect combination of her dual interests in storytelling and working with young people.

Growing up, Jasmine felt a lot of pressure to become a doctor to please her immigrant father. She also didn’t quite believe she could really be an author because she never read stories about girls like her. She now feels extra inspired to write books that will help other young people feel empowered to tell their own stories. She also strongly believes that all kids should have the opportunity to see diversity in their literary protagonists and heroes, and that we all gain empathy and insight from reading outside of our own experience.

These days, Jasmine lives with her husband, two daughters, and a very energetic dog in a book-filled house in the Chicago-area.