Lucy Maud Montgomery, published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for her collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with Anne of Green Gables. She published 20 novels as well as 530 short stories, 500 poems, and 30 essays. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success; the title character, orphan Anne Shirley, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following.

Most of her novels were set on Prince Edward Island, and these locations within Canada's smallest province became a literary landmark and popular tourist site—namely Green Gables farm, the genesis of Prince Edward Island National Park. Montgomery's work, diaries, and letters have been read and studied by scholars and readers worldwide. The L. M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island is responsible for scholarly inquiry into the life, works, culture, and influence of Montgomery.