Lisa Ann Sandell is an American author and editor of

young adult literature Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

. She is the author of three novels, ''A Map of the Known World'', '' Song of the Sparrow'' and ''The Weight of the Sky'', and the Editorial Director of the narrative nonfiction imprint at

Scholastic Books Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

Biography

Before she published her first book, Sandell traveled to Israel for a

birthright trip Taglit-Birthright Israel (), also known as Birthright Israel or simply Birthright, is a free ten-day heritage trip to Israel, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights for young adults of Jewish heritage between the ages of 18 and 26. The program is spo ...

and interned in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

at the news magazine ''

The Jerusalem Report ''The Jerusalem Report'' is a fortnightly print and online news magazine that covers political, military, economic, religious and cultural issues in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world. Founded as an independent weekly publication in 1 ...

''. The experience informed Sandell's first novel, ''The Weight of the Sky'', a novel in verse published by Viking Children's Books in 2006. In 1999, Sandell received a BA in Medieval and Renaissance Literature from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Her honors thesis on

Sir Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'A ...

's treatment of

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; Anglo-Norman French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the ...

provided the inspiration for her second novel, '' Song of the Sparrow''. Her last published work, ''A Map of the Known World'', was published in 2009. Sandell moved to New York City in 2000, and began work as a children's book editor at Scholastic. She is the Editorial Director of Scholastic Focus, the narrative nonfiction imprint of Scholastic. Sandell is married to

Liel Leibovitz Liel Leibovitz (; born 1976) is an Israeli journalist, author, media critic, and video game scholar. Leibovitz was born in Tel Aviv, immigrated to the United States in 1999, and earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2007. In 2014, he was Visi ...

, conservative Israeli pundit and editor-at-large for

Tablet Magazine ''Tablet'' is a conservative American magazine focused on Jewish news and culture, featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, and essays. It was founded in 2009 by editor-in-chief Alana Newhouse and is supported by the Nextbook foundation ...

Young adult novels

*''The Weight of the Sky'' (2006) *'' Song of the Sparrow'' (2007) *''A Map of the Known World'' (2009)

Short stories

*"See Me", included in the young adult anthology ''21 Proms'', which was published in 2007.

Awards

*''New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age'', 2007, for "The Weight of the Sky" *"

Voice of Youth Advocates ''Voice of Youth Advocates'' (''VOYA'') was a bimonthly magazine that provides book reviews and information for librarians with a focus on young adult materials. History and profile ''VOYA'' was established in 1978. The founders were Dorothy M ...

Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror titles, 2007, for "Song of the Sparrow"

References

External links

* *. The author's page at her publisher,

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...