Judy Blume

Judy Blume, born in 1938, American author, known for her fiction for young people. Blume is one of the bestselling children’s authors of all time, with more than 75 million copies of her books in print and editions published in more than 20 different languages.

She was born Judy Sussman in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and attended New York University. Blume (her married name) began writing and illustrating children's stories in the mid-1960s. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970), her first book to win a wide following, deals humorously and realistically with the physical, emotional, and religious preoccupations of a 12-year-old girl; written in the first person, it shows characteristic frankness of language and subject matter.

Blume's other popular novels for young people include Then Again, Maybe I Won't (1971), It's Not the End of the World (1972), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), Blubber (1974), Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself (1977), Superfudge (1980), Tiger Eyes (1981), Deenie (1982), Just as Long as We’re Together (1987), Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson (1993), and Double Fudge (2002).

Blume also published a novel for young adults, Forever... (1975), which describes an adolescent girl's first sexual experience. Among her writings for adults are the novels Wifey (1977), Smart Women (1984), and Summer Sisters (1998).

Blume is an outspoken critic of literary censorship, and she edited the collection Places I Never Meant to Be: Original Stories by Censored Writers (1999). She received an honorary National Book Award in 2004 for her life’s work. See also Children’s Literature.