Rita Murphy

Rita Murphy was born in Syracuse, New York, on February 3, 1964. The daughter of a pianist and an English teacher, she grew up surrounded by stories and rhythm. After her son was born in 1992, she discovered her love for storytelling and began writing short stories. Her first novel, "Night Flying," won the Delacorte Press Prize at Random House Children's Books in 1999 and was voted one of the Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association and Smithsonian Magazine in 2000. She has been a creative writing instructor at The Monteverde Friends School in Costa Rica and is on the faculty of The Breadloaf Young Writers Conference in Vermont. She lives with her husband and son in Burlington, Vermont.