About the Author

"I'm a creator, a visionary, a poet.
 I approach the world with the eyes of an artist,
the ears of a musician,
and the soul of a writer.
 I see rainbows where others see only rain,
and possibilities when others see only problems."

Sharon Draper is a writer, a teacher, a volunteer, a poet, an activist, a wife, an award winner, and an overall extraordinary person. An Ohio native, Draper graduated from the Pepperdine University, and returned to Ohio to live in Cincinnati. She works as an educator and is an active participant at Cincinnati's YWCA. Named National Teacher of the Year in 1997, it is hard to craft a biography of Draper without simply chronicling her outstanding accomplishments. As she continues to write, Draper has travelled around the United states, as well as countries like Russia, Ghana, Togo, Guam, Kenya, spreading her education excellence. She has been honored by the White House six times, and was one of only four authors chosen to speak at the National Book Festival Gala in Washington, D.C. As well, she has represented the US in international festivals, such as Moscow's Book Festival. Sharon Draper is also a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award for novels on African-American experience. Well known for her works such as Tears of the Tiger, Forged by the Fire, Out of My Mind (a novel inspired by her daughter about a girl with cerebral palsy), Darkness Before Dawn, Copper Sun, and several other award winning works, Sharon Draper continues to be one of the most admirable educators and young adult writers of our time. 

For more information on Sharon Draper and her works, CLICK HERE to visit her website.

Awards

Sharon M. Draper: 

• National Teacher of the Year, Coretta Scott King Award (five-time), New York Times Best best selling author, Ohio's Outstanding High School Language Arts Educator, Ohio Teacher of the Year, NCNW Excellence in Teaching Award, Milken Family Foundation National Educator, YWCA Career Woman of Achievement, Dean's Award from Howard, Pepperdine University Distinguished Alumnus Award, Marva Collins Education Excellence Award, Governor's Educational Leadership Award, Ohio Pioneer in Education, Becaon of Light Humanitarian Award, Jeremiah Ludington Memorial Award, Lifetime Achievement Award

Awards (by works other than Copper Sun)

Forged by the Fire:

• 1997 Coretta Scott King Award, ALA BEST Book Award, Parent's Choice Award, Indiana Young Hoosier Award

Darkness Before Dawn: 

• ALA Top Ten Quick Pick, Children's Choice Award from International Reading Association, Buckeye Book Award (2005), IRA Young Adult Choice (2003)

Romiette and Julio:

• ALA Best Book, International Reading Association Notable Book for a Global Society (2000), New York Public Library Notable Book for Teen Age

Double Dutch:

• Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People by the Children's Book Council, top ten sports books for young adults by the ALA, Sunshine State Young Reader's Award (2006)

Fire from the Rock:

• NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (2008), New York Public Library Best Books for Teen Age

We Beat the Street:

• New York Times Besteller List, VOYA's Non-Fiction Honor List (2006), New York Public Library Best Books for the Teen Age

November Blues:

• Coretta Scott King Award (2008),New York Public LIbrary Best Books for Teen Age (2008)

Sassy: Little Sister is Not my Name:

• Parents Choice Award (2009)

Panic:

• YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers (2014), translated into German and Chinese

Out of My Mind:

• New York Times Bestselling novel for OVER A YEAR, Josette Frank Award by the Children's Book Committee of the Bank Street College of Education (his award for fiction honors a book of outstanding literary merit in which young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally), 2011 IRA Teachers' Choice Book, 2011 IRA Young Adult's Choice, as well as the Best Book of the Year from KIRKUS, Outstanding Children's book of 2011 by Bank Street College, 2011 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, Buckeye Children's Book Award from Ohio, the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award in both the middle school and elementary categories, the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award from Maryland, the Beehive Book Award from Utah, and the Virginia Reader's Choice Award. It was also featured in the July 9 issue of Time Magazine, and the July issue of Ladies' Home Journal. It was also on the Indie National Bestseller List.
• Out of my Mind has been translated into the following languages: Italian, Catalan, Chinese Complex, Chinese Simplified, Spanish, Russian, Korean, German, Hebrew, and Brazilian Portuguese.
• Out of My Mind has also been selected for 32 state reading lists and has won the following state awards: California Young Reader Middle School/Junior High medal, Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award (elementary), Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award (middle grades), Illinois Bluestem Award, Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award, Missouri Mark Twain Readers Award, Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, Minnesota Maud Hrt Lovelace Award, Nevada Young Readers’ Award, New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award, North Dakota Flicker Tale Children's Book Award, Ohio Buckeye Children's Book Award, Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award, South Dakota Prairie Pasque Award, Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award, Texas Lamplighter Award, Utah Beehive Book Award, Virginia Readers' Choice Award, Washington Sasquatch Award