Jack Gantos was born in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, and has spent time living in Barbados and South Florida. He has written books for readers of all ages, including the acclaimed Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key and its sequels, the teenage novel Desire Lines, and the youthful memoire Hole in My Life. His is also the writer of Dead End in Norvelt and From Norvelt to Nowhere, a pair of semi-autobiographical novels about the importance of history and reading, the first of which won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 2012. He lives with his wife and daughter in Boston, Massachusetts.