Amanda Eyre Ward

Amanda Eyre Ward is an award-winning American novelist who is known for her skillful writing and emotionally charged themes. Her stories captivate readers with tales filled with courage, love, and family secrets. Ward was born in North Carolina, and her work reflects her roots in the Southern United States. Ward graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English Literature and received her Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ward's breakout novel Sleep Toward Heaven was published in 1998 and won both the American Library Association's Alex Award and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in young adult literature. In this novel, Ward follows the journey of an abused teenage girl who washes up on the shores of a sleepy North Carolina beach town. As she struggles to recall her past and build a future for herself, she finds respite with an unexpected family who welcome her into their home and lives. As the teen gained her strength and courage, she helps her new family confront their hidden struggles.

Ward continued to explore complex family issues and the power of female bonds in her 2009 novel How To Be Lost. In this story, Ward follows three struggling sisters who embark on a road trip in search of their estranged father. As they encounter the people and places that shaped their father's past, they confront their own complicated relationship as siblings and discover what it means to be truly lost and ultimately found.

In 2011, Ward received international attention with the release of The Same Sky, which served as an exploration of human tragedy from both sides of the immigration issue. Ward tells the story of two families whose lives are separated by the Gulf of Mexico. An elder woman in South Texas longs for her long-lost son, and a man in Mexico sends his daughter to find a better life in the United States. As their stories intertwine and crash against each other, Ward delivers a powerful and moving tale of love, loss, and hope.

Ward followed up the success of The Same Sky with her 2016 novel Love Stories in This Town. This novel takes readers back to the sleepy beach town setting of Sleep Toward Heaven, as Ward explores a community connected by secrets, heartache, and a struggle to find love and acceptance.

With each novel, Ward demonstrates a skillful ability to explore timely and timeless themes that captivate readers to the end. Her thoughtful and honest writing has established her as a respected author, and her poignant and captivating stories are sure to remain popular for years to come.