Sue Monk Kidd, born on August 12, 1948, in Sylvester, Georgia, is a renowned American writer celebrated for her compelling novels, including The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings. Kidd's journey into the literary world began in the small town of Sylvester, Georgia. She pursued her academic interests at Texas Christian University, graduating in 1970, and further honed her craft through creative writing courses at Emory University, in addition to studying at esteemed writers’ conferences such as Sewanee and Bread Loaf.

In her forties, Kidd shifted her focus towards fiction writing, a move that culminated in winning the South Carolina Fellowship in Literature and the 1996 Poets & Writers Exchange Program in Fiction. Her debut novel, The Secret Life of Bees, published in 2002, became a literary sensation, enchanting readers and critics alike. The novel not only spent more than 2½ years on the New York Times bestseller list but also has been translated into 36 languages, selling more than 6 million copies in the U.S. and 8 million worldwide. Furthermore, its adaptation into a movie in 2008 helped secure Kidd's international fame.