About the Author
E. Lockhart (born 1967; real name Emily Jenkins) is an American young adult author best known for We Were Liars (2014), a psychological thriller about a privileged family whose summers on a private island conceal a devastating secret. We Were Liars became one of the defining YA novels of the 2010s, celebrated for its unreliable narrator, its precise prose, and its genuinely shocking conclusion. Lockhart also wrote the critically acclaimed The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (2008), a feminist boarding school novel that was a National Book Award finalist.
Lockhart's work is distinguished by its structural experimentation and its refusal to soften the moral and emotional consequences of her characters' choices. She studied English and comparative literature and later earned an MFA in creative writing; the craft-consciousness of her background is evident in the precision of her prose. Under her real name Emily Jenkins she has also written picture books and early chapter books for younger readers. Family of Liars (2022) is a prequel to We Were Liars set a generation earlier. Her work is recommended for fans of Gillian Flynn, Nova Ren Suma, and Karen M. McManus.