Jeanne DuPrau was born in 1944 in San Francisco, California and is best known for The Books of Ember, a series of science fiction novels for young readers. She currently lives in Menlo Park, California. DuPrau spends several hours of every day at her computer, thinking up sentences. She finds solace in a quote by Thomas Mann: "A writer is someone for whom writing is harder than it is for other people." This quote gives her courage because she finds writing to be a challenging task, filled with endless decisions about which words to choose and how to steer the narrative at any given moment.

Despite these challenges, writing is the most satisfying endeavor she knows. DuPrau has authored four novels, six books of nonfiction, and a number of essays and stories. Beyond her writing, she enjoys gardening in California's conducive climate.