Judy Blume

About Judy Blume

Judy Blume was born in 1938 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and grew up in a middle-class Jewish family. She studied education at New York University and began writing after her children were born, initially producing picture books before finding her voice in middle-grade and young adult fiction. Her early novels—Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970), Then Again, Maybe I Won't (1971), and It's Not the End of the World (1972)—broke new ground by speaking frankly about puberty, religion, divorce, and the inner lives of ordinary children.

Blume's willingness to address subjects that adults often avoided in children's books made her immensely popular with young readers and a persistent target for censors. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret deals with a girl's questions about religion, menstruation, and growing up, and has been challenged repeatedly since its publication. Forever... (1975), written at the request of her daughter for a novel where teenagers have sex without tragedy following, became her most controversial work and remains one of the most frequently banned books in the United States.

Over her career, Blume has become one of the most challenged authors in American library history, appearing on the American Library Association's lists of most frequently banned and challenged books for decades. She has been a vocal opponent of censorship, cofounding the Kids' Right to Read Project and speaking widely about the importance of books that reflect authentic young experiences. In 2023, a documentary, Judy Blume Forever, was released on Amazon Prime Video, examining her work and her decades-long battle against book banning.

Despite sustained censorship campaigns, Blume's books have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide and have been translated into dozens of languages. She has received numerous lifetime achievement awards, including the Library of Congress Living Legends honor, and continues to advocate for readers' access to honest, empathetic literature.