Annie Barrows (born 1962 in San Diego, California) is an American editor and author. She is best known for the Ivy and Bean series of children's books, but she has written several other books for adult readers as well.[1] With her aunt Mary Ann Shaffer she co-wrote The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society, which was later adapted into a film.

Annie Barrows
Barrows at the 2018 Texas Book Festival
Born1962 (age 61–62)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Websitehttp://www.anniebarrows.com/

Personal life

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Barrows is the second of two girls (her sister is two years older). She was born in San Diego, near the southern border of the state of California. When she was three weeks old the family moved to a small town, San Anselmo, in Northern California. She spent considerable time during her childhood in the town's children's library, where she eventually got a part-time job while in junior high school, maintaining the books and reshelving them.

Barrows attended UC Berkeley, originally majoring in English Literature, but graduating in Medieval History. She worked as an editor,[2] then decided to turn to writing. After enrolling in a writing school,[3] she then began writing books for adults.

Barrows is married. She has two daughters. Her aunt was Mary Ann Shaffer.

Writing career

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Barrows' first writing output was for adult non-fiction.[4] In 2003 she turned to Children's literature, for which she is most noted and honored. Of her interest in this area she has written:

I sometimes think I've spent my entire life trying to recreate one particular afternoon of my tenth year. That was the day I lay on the couch reading a wonderful book called Time at the Top until I lost all sense of my real life and joined the life of the book instead. It was glorious, like walking into a dream. I want every kid to have that experience, but most of all, being horribly selfish, I want to have it again, too. And finally, I've discovered a way: I write books.[5]

Published works

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Awards and recognitions

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References

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  1. ^ "Annie Barrows". Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2012. Annie Barrows webpage, About Annie Barrows. Accessed August 5, 2012
  2. ^ Barrows worked as an editor for an Art Criticism magazine, a publisher of high-school textbooks, a magazine which published fiction and poetry, a magazine which published short stories, and a book publishing company, Chronicle Books, in San Francisco.
  3. ^ Barrows obtained an M.F.A. degree from Mills College in San Francisco, California,
  4. ^ "She has written about fortune-telling (she can read palms), urban legends (there are no alligators in the sewer), and opera (she knows what they're singing about)." from The Magic Half website; accessed August 5, 2012. However, she wrote under other names, so these works are not available as Annie Barrows books. from the amazon.com website [1], accessed August 5, 2012
  5. ^ "Annie Barrows". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2012. Annie Barrows website, The Magic Half. accessed August 5, 2012
  6. ^ "The Magic Half | Annie Barrows". Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  7. ^ "Ivy + Bean | Annie Barrows". Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society | Annie Barrows". Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  9. ^ "Magic in the Mix | Annie Barrows". Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "The Truth According to Us | Annie Barrows". Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Nothing | Annie Barrows". Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  12. ^ "What John Marco Saw". Chronicle Books. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  13. ^ "Welcome to the World of Iggy | Annie Barrows". Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  14. ^ "Like". Chronicle Books. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  15. ^ "Mark Twain Readers Award". thelibrary.org. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  16. ^ "2011 Virginia Readers Choice Award Winners". www.fictiondb.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  17. ^ "Rhode Island Children's Book Award Winners and Nominees - RI Office of Library & Information Services". olis.ri.gov. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  18. ^ "2010 Massachusetts Children's Book Award Winners". www.fictiondb.com. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  19. ^ "Sasquatch Award History". www.wla.org. Retrieved May 1, 2023.