New York State English Council

          Laurie Halse Anderson, the New York Times-bestselling author, began her career as a freelance journalist.  In 1999, she wrote what is arguably her most famous novel, Speak, a National Book Award nominee. The following year, Anderson wrote Fever 1793, a historical fiction piece, and in 2002, Catalyst, set in the same high school as Speak.  Twisted (2007) was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an International Reading Association Top Ten book of the year. In 2008, Anderson published another historical fiction book, a narrative about a teenage Revolutionary War-era slave, entitled Chains. Her sequel to Chains, entitled Forge, will be released in 2010. Anderson's most recent novel, Wintergirls (2009), debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List.