Ann Brashares is an American young adult novelist best known as the author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. She was born on July 30, 1967, in Alexandria, Virginia, and grew up in Washington D.C.

Ann attended a Quaker school named Sidwell Friends in the D.C. area and later studied Philosophy at Barnard College, which is part of Columbia University in New York City. Initially planning to pursue graduate studies in philosophy, Ann decided to take a year off after college to work as an editor to save money. However, she fell in love with her job, never returned to graduate school, and remained in New York City working as an editor for many years.

In 2000, Ann made the transition from editor to full-time writer with the publication of her first novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which brought her unexpected success among young adult readers. The series also inspired two films, Uno para todas and Uno para todas 2.

Ann lives in New York with her husband and three children and spends her summers on Fire Island.