Gillian French

Growing up in rural Maine led Gillian French to believe that the mystery of the past is all around. She uses her surroundings as a setting for her dark stories that often have a creepy twist. While she's never seen a ghost, she's pretty sure she's heard ghostly footsteps in the night. Her first YA novel, Grit, (HarperCollins, 2017) won the Maine Lupine Award and Maine Literary Award and was an Edgar Award Nominee for Best YA Novel. She is also the author of The Lies They Tell (2018) and The Missing Season (2019).

I hold a BA in English, and I’m a member of the Mystery Writers of America. I’ve also served as a judge for multiple literary awards, including the Edgar Awards. I live in central Maine with my husband and our four young sons, where I’m perpetually agonizing over my next novel (in the best possible way, of course!).