Judith Stahl Viorst

Judith Viorst was born and raised in New Jersey. She received a bachelor’s degree in history from Rutgers University, and in 1981, after six years of study, she graduated from the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband Milton, who is the author of several acclaimed political books. They have three sons—Anthony, Nicholas, and Alexander—and seven perfect grandchildren. Ms. Viorst has written 17 books for adults, including nine books of poetry and Necessary Losses, which was on the New York Times bestseller list for almost two years. Her 19 children’s books include Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, illustrated by Ray Cruz, which has sold some four million copies and has been inducted into the Picture Book Hall of Fame, and—most recently—Lulu and the Brontosaurus and Lulu Walks the Dogs, illustrated by Lane Smith. She was also a contributing editor to Redbook Magazine for 25 years, and has written for many other newspapers and magazines. In addition, she has written, with composer Shelly Markham, the book and lyrics for three musicals—Love and Shrimp, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and Alexander, Who’s Not Not Not Not Not Not Going to Move. A fourth musical, Lulu and the Brontosaurus, music by Markham, is scheduled for production in the 2013-2014 season of Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland. Ms.Viorst lectures on a variety of subjects—loss, control, life lessons over the decades, the shared experiences of children and adults—combining thought-provoking, psychologically sound points with humorous anecdotes and poems from her books of verse.