Louis Sachar (pronounced Sacker) is a renowned American author known for his contributions to children's literature. Born on March 20, 1954, in East Meadow, New York, Sachar moved to Tustin, California, at the age of nine. He pursued higher education at the University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1976 with a major in economics.

Sachar commenced his writing career while working at a sweater warehouse, where he penned his first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, during his evening hours. Following his termination from the warehouse job nearly a year later, he enrolled in Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. While attending law school, his first book was published, and he graduated in 1980.

For eight years, Sachar balanced part-time legal work with his passion for writing. He gained widespread recognition for his young-adult mystery-comedy books, notably the Wayside School series and the novel Holes. The latter earned the 1998 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the 1999 Newbery Medal for "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." In 2013, Holes was ranked sixth among children's novels in a survey by the School Library Journal.