(If you need a short, formal biography for an article, review, or to read before bed, hopefully this will help.)

Bridget Farr is an author and educator. Her young adult novel, The Truth About Everything, won Gold in Young Adult Fiction at the 2023 IPPY Awards and was a 2022 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year finalist. Her middle grade novels, Pavi Sharma's Guide to Going Home and Margie Kelly Breaks the Dress Code, have been praised by Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and School Library Journal for their swift pacing, diverse casts, and thoughtful treatment of issues like foster care and gender inequality.

Bridget spent nearly two decades in public schools, most recently as the principal of a public Montessori elementary. Now, she studies education policy at the University of Texas at Austin with a focus on school improvement. Born and raised in eastern Montana, she now lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Shiva, and the neighborhood cat, Sherman. Bridget is represented by Melissa Edwards at the Stonesong Literary Agency.

My grandpa became a science teacher after he returned from WWII. My dad was my high school principal, and my mom taught kindergarten for 32 years. My older sister teaches eighth-grade biology. (My little sister went rogue and became a nurse.)

I followed my family business into a classroom of my own, and public education can break your heart. Not doing enough—and there is never time to do it all—can feel insurmountable. But children give me hope. Whenever my optimism dips, I remember the moments of wonder. I remember Angel, reading a book on a tilted chair, and his simple exclamation: "I can't stop thinking about the universe."

On the wall above my desk is a sticky note with the phrase, "Policy as agency." I'm finding new ways to make change for students, even when my days are not spent re-teaching multiplication or holding sticky hands. I'm proud to continue my family business.