L. M. Elliott

{{Infobox writer

| name = L. M. Elliott

| honorific_prefix =

| honorific_suffix =

| image = LME at Sussex County Children's Book Fair.jpg

| image_size =

| alt = Elliott signing a book at 2022 Sussex County Children's Book Fair

| caption = Elliott at the 2022 Sussex County Children's Book Fair in Delaware

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| pseudonym =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1957}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| resting_place =

| occupation =

| language =

| nationality = American

| ethnicity =

| citizenship =

| education =

| alma_mater = Wake Forest University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

| period =

| genre = Children's fiction

| subject =

| movement =

| notableworks =

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| relatives =

| awards =

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| module =

| website = {{URL|http://www.lmelliott.com/}}

| portaldisp =

}}

Laura Malone Elliot, known by her pen name L. M. Elliot, is an American author of more than a dozen young adult novels, including Under a War-Torn Sky (2001), Give Me Liberty (2008), A Troubled Peace (2009), Da Vinci’s Tiger (2015), Suspect Red (2017), Hamilton and Peggy! A Revolutionary Friendship (2018), Walls (2021), and Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves (2022).

{{cite web |date= |title=About |url=http://www.lmelliott.com/about |access-date=20 July 2022 |publisher=L.M. Elliott}}

{{cite web

| title = Elliott, Laura Malone 1957- (L.M. Elliott)

| publisher = Encyclopedia.com

| url = http://www.encyclopedia.com/children/scholarly-magazines/elliott-laura-malone-1957-lm-elliott

| date =

| accessdate = 13 September 2017}}

{{cite web

| title = L.M. Elliott

| publisher = HarperCollins

| url = https://www.harpercollins.com/cr-100226/l-m-elliott

| date =

| accessdate = 13 September 2017}}

{{cite web

| title = Laura Elliott

| publisher = Fairfax County Library

| url = http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/bookcast/elliott.htm

| date =

| accessdate = 13 September 2017}}

{{cite web

| title = Bio

| publisher = AdLit

| url = http://www.adlit.org/authors/Elliott/4494/

| date =

| accessdate = 13 September 2017}}

Biography

Elliott was born in 1957 near Washington, D.C. She graduated from Wake Forest University and holds a master's in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also holds several national literary awards, such as the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction for Bea and the New Deal Horse, the NCSS/CBC Notable Book in Social Studies for her works Under a War-Torn Sky, A Troubled Peace, Suspect Red, and Walls, which were also named Bank Street College of Education Best Books along with Hamilton and Peggy! and Flying South. Her book Suspect Red, a 1950s McCarthy-era story of two teenage boys caught up in the Red Scare’s paranoia, was the winner of the 2018 Grateful American Book Prize. Hamilton and Peggy! A Revolutionary Friendship, a biographical novel about the youngest of the Schuyler Sisters, also received a Grateful American Book Prize Honorable Mention that same year.

Elliott was a long-time senior writer for the Washingtonian magazine.

Elliott was twice a finalist for the National Magazine Award and recipient of numerous Dateline awards. She wrote often on children, women's issues, and health, and co-authored two adult nonfiction works during her time as a journalist.

Her historical fiction novels fit the genre of coming of age fiction, featuring teenage protagonists encountering rites of passage.

Elliott has also authored five picture books for children with New York Times best-selling illustrator, Lynn Munsinger, including: Hunter's Best Friend at School, Hunter and Stripe and the Soccer Showdown, and Hunter's Big Sister, and A String of Hearts. Their last illustrated title together, Thanksgiving Day Thanks, was released in January, 2013.

Elliott lives in Fairfax County, Virginia, and has an adult daughter and son, also professional creative artists. She appears frequently at middle schools and high schools where she speaks with students about writing, research, and the value of reading about history.

{{cite web

| title = FAQs about Laura

| publisher = L.M. Elliott

| url = http://www.lmelliott.com/frequently-asked-questions

| date =

| accessdate = 13 September 2017}}

Awards

NCSS/CBC Notable Book in Social Studies (Under a War-Torn Sky)
Jefferson Cup Honor Book (Under a War-Torn Sky)
Bank Street College of Education's Best Book (Under a War-Torn Sky)
Borders' Original Voices Award (Under a War-Torn Sky)
IRA/Children's Book Council Children's Choice (Hunter's Best Friend at School)
Bank Street College of Education Best Book (Flying South)
Joan G. Sugarman Literature Award (Flying South)
NCSS/CBC Notable (A Troubled Peace)
Jefferson Cup Overfloweth (Across a War-Tossed Sea)
IRA Teacher's Choice (Annie, Between the States)
New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age (Annie, Between the States)
Grateful American Book Prize (Suspect Red){{Cite web |date=2018-09-20 |title=L.M. Elliott to receive the 2018 Grateful American Book Prize for Suspect Red and an Honorable Mention for Hamilton and Peggy! |url=https://www.gratefulamericanbookprize.com/2018/09/20/l-m-elliott-to-receive-the-2018-grateful-american-book-prize-for-suspect-red-and-an-honorable-mention-for-hamilton-and-peggy/ |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Grateful American Book Prize |language=en-US}}
NCSS/CBC Notable Book in Social Studies (Suspect Red)
Bank Street College of Education Best Book (Suspect Red)
Grateful American Book Prize Honorable Mention (Hamilton and Peggy! A Revolutionary Friendship)
Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year (Hamilton and Peggy! A Revolutionary Friendship)
Bank Street College of Education Best Book (Walls)
NCSS/CBC Notable (Walls)
Kirkus 100 Best YA Novels (Walls)
Kirkus Best YA Historical Fiction (Walls)
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction (Bea and the New Deal Horse){{Cite web |last=O'Dell |first=Scott |title=www.scottodell.com |url=https://scottodell.com/the-scott-odell-award |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=www.scottodell.com |language=en-US}}

Works

Shattered Dreams: The Story of Charlotte Fedders with Charlotte Fedders (New York: Harper & Row, 1987)
A to Z Guide to Your Child's Behavior: A Parent's Easy and Authoritative Reference to Hundreds of Everyday Problems and Concerns from Birth to Twelve Years (contributor) (New York: Putnam, 1993)
Under a War-Torn Sky (New York: Hyperion, 2001)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = Under a War-Torn Sky

| url = https://archive.org/details/underwartornsky00elli

| url-access = registration

| publisher = Hyperion

| date = 2001

| lccn = 2001016633

}}

Hunter's Best Friend at School (New York: HarperCollins, 2002)

{{cite book

| first = Laura Malone

| last = Elliott

| title = Hunter's Best Friend at School

| url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780060002312

| url-access = registration

| publisher = HarperCollins

| date = 2002

| lccn = 2001039816

}}

Flying South (New York: HarperCollins, 2003)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = Flying South

| publisher = HarperCollins

| date = 2003

| lccn = 2002014414

}}

Annie, Between the States (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2004)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = Annie, Between the States

| url = https://archive.org/details/anniebetweenstat00elli

| url-access = registration

| publisher = Katherine Tegen Books

| date = 2004

| isbn = 9780060012113

| lccn = 2003024941

}}

Hunter & Stripe and the Soccer Showdown (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2005)

{{cite book

| first = Laura Malone

| last = Elliott

| title = Hunter & Stripe and the Soccer Showdown

| url = https://archive.org/details/hunterstripes00elli

| url-access = registration

| publisher = Katherine Tegen Books

| date = 2005

| lccn = 2004022370

}}

Give Me Liberty (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2006)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = Give Me Liberty

| url = https://archive.org/details/givemeliberty00elli

| url-access = registration

| publisher = Katherine Tegen Books

| date = 2006

| isbn = 9780060744212

| lccn = 2006018166

}}

Hunter's Big Sister (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2007)

{{cite book

| first = Laura Malone

| last = Elliott

| title = Hunter's Big Sister

| publisher = Katherine Tegen Books

| date = 2007

| lccn = 2005018099

}}

A Troubled Peace (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2009)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = A Troubled Peace

| url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780060744274

| url-access = registration

| publisher = Katherine Tegen Books

| date = 2009

| lccn = 2010923160

}}

A String of Hearts (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2010)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = A String of Hearts

| publisher = Katherine Tegen Books

| date = 2010

| lccn = 2009031222

}}

Thanksgiving Day Thanks (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2013)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = Thanksgiving Day Thanks

| url = https://archive.org/details/thanksgivingdayt0000elli

| url-access = registration

| publisher = Katherine Tegen Books

| date = 2013

| isbn = 9780060002367

| lccn = 2012030717

}}

Across a War-Tossed Sea (New York: Disney-Hyperion, 2014)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = Across a War-Tossed Sea

| url = https://archive.org/details/acrosswartosseds0000elli

| url-access = registration

| publisher = Disney-Hyperion

| date = 2014

| lccn = 2013035303

}}

Da Vinci's Tiger (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2015)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = Da Vinci's Tiger

| publisher = Katherine Tegen Books

| date = 2015

| lccn = 2014047920

}}

Suspect Red (Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion, 2017)

{{cite book

| first = L. M.

| last = Elliott

| title = Suspect Red

| publisher = Disney-Hyperion

| date = 2017

| lccn = 2016041824

}}

Hamilton and Peggy! A Revolutionary Friendship (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2018){{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=L.M. |title=Hamilton and Peggy! A Revolutionary Friendship |publisher=Katherine Tegen Books |year=2018 |lccn=2017944492}}
Storm Dog (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2020){{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=L.M. |title=Storm Dog |publisher=Katherine Tegen Books |year=2020 |lccn=2019956224}}
Walls (Chapel Hill: Algonquin, 2021){{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=L.M. |title=Walls |publisher=Algonquin |year=2021 |lccn=2021009295}}
Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2022){{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=L.M. |title=Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves |publisher=Katherine Tegen Books |year=2022 |lccn=2021945751}}
Bea and the New Deal Horse (New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2023){{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=L.M. |title=Bea and the New Deal Horse |publisher=Katherine Tegen Books |year=2023 |isbn=9780063219007 |publication-date=March 28, 2023 |language=en}}
Truth, Lies, and the Questions in Between (New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2025){{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=L.M. |title=Truth, Lies, and the Questions in Between |publisher=Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |year=2025 |isbn=9781643752822 |publication-date=January 14, 2025 |language=en}}

References

External links

[http://www.lmelliott.com/ The author's website]
[https://fallforthebook.org/lmelliott/ Breaking Down Walls: Disinformation, Lies & the Berlin Wall with "Fall for the Book" (2022)]
Laws, Katherine (July 15, 2022). "[https://magazine.wfu.edu/2022/07/15/finding-answers-in-the-past/ Finding Answers in the Past: Laura Malone Elliott (’79) offers young people connections and inspiration in her historical novels that can help them navigate the world today"]. Wake Forest Magazine.
[https://www.cbcbooks.org/2021/08/12/riveting-chat-with-l-m-elliott-the-talented-author-of-walls/ Q&A with Elliott about Walls] at Children's Book Council (2021)
[https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/better-read-dead-new-young-adult-book-dives-mccarthyism Interview of Elliott about Suspect Red] at NEA Today (2017)
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110726045429/http://fallforthebook.org/?p=330 "Fall for the Book" (2009) for educators and students featuring "A Troubled Peace"]
[http://www.readingrockets.org/calendar/valentine Valentine's Day video featuring the author. Presented by "Reading Rockets", a program of Washington, D.C. Public Television (WETA)]