Laurel Snyder author page

Laurel Snyder biography

Laurel Snyder writes books for children, poetry for adults, and nonfiction. She graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has worked as a commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered.

Snyder edited Half/Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes and wrote two books of poems. Her picture-book biography Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova, illustrated by Julie Morstad, was published on 1 August 2015.

Her middle-grade novel Orphan Island was published by Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins on 30 May 2017. The story follows Jinny, the eldest child on a mysterious island where a boat brings one new child and takes the oldest child away. Orphan Island was longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Snyder has also written interactive and Jewish-themed children’s books. Endlessly Ever After: Pick Your Path to Countless Fairy Tale Endings!, illustrated by Dan Santat, was published on 19 April 2022. The Witch of Woodland was published on 16 May 2023. The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah, illustrated by Leanne Hatch, was published by Clarion/HarperCollins on 16 September 2025.