Ann Brashares

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Ann Brashares grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with three brothers and attended a Quaker school in the D.C. area called Sidwell Friends. She studied Philosophy at Barnard College, part of Columbia University in New York City. Expecting to continue studying philosophy in graduate school, Ann took a year off after college to work as an editor, hoping to save money for school. Loving her job, she never went to graduate school, and instead, remained in New York City and worked as an editor for many years. Ann made the transition from editor to full-time writer with her first novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Ann and her husband live with their three children in New York.



Author's Comment: The Sisterhood is ultimately about friendship. It's about loving the people around you in an unconditional way. Sometimes that means being honest and challenging with your friends – saying the hard things rather than taking the easy way. It's also about receiving that kind of love with grace. When I've done readings and book signings, many of you arrive in your own groups of friends. You tell me funny, poignant stories of things you've shared – clothing, scrapbooks, boyfriends (ha!), whatever. I can't count how many of you bring an extra book for me to sign for somebody you love. People say my books are fantasy, but I know they're not. I see your friendships in real life and I know it's possible. The Traveling Pants do represent love, but it doesn't take a pair of pants to get it or give it.

Nationality: American