Nan Parson Rossiter was born in Mount Vernon, New York; some of her earliest memories include riding a green Stingray bike—complete with banana seat and sissy bar—to the Pelham Library, which at the time was a tiny, cavelike space tucked beneath Hutchinson Elementary School. It was from the shelves of this library that Nan first discovered the magic of books. Some of her favorite characters included Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Pippi Longstocking, Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Scarlet Pimpernel, and Harriet the Spy.

When she was in the seventh grade, Nan moved with her parents to Barkhamsted, Connecticut. She graduated from Northwestern Regional 7 High School and went on to the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1986 with a degree in illustration. After freelancing for several years, she began writing and illustrating books for children, including Rugby & Rosie, winner of Nebraska’s Golden Sower Award, and most recently, The Fo’c’sle: Henry Beston’s Outermost House. In 2011, Nan published her first novel, The Gin & Chowder Club; she is also the author of Words Get in the Way, More Than You Know, Under a Summer Sky, and a short Christmas story in the anthology Making Spirits Bright.

Nan lives in rural Connecticut with her husband and their two handsome sons. When she is not working, she enjoys hiking with her family or curling up with a good book.