Judith Viorst

1931 –

Born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 2, 1931, Judith Viorst is the author of many works of fiction and nonfiction, for children as well as adults. She attended Rutgers University.

Viorst is the author of a series of poetry books related to aging that include Unexpectedly Eighty: And Other Adaptations (The Free Press, 2010) and When Did I Stop Being Twenty and Other Injustices: Selected Poems from Single to Mid-Life (Simon & Schuster, 1987). She is also the author of Murdering Mr. Monti (Simon & Schuster, 1994) and Necessary Losses (The Free Press, 1986), which appeared on The New York Times bestseller lists for hardcover and paperback for almost two years. Her children’s books include Alexander, Who’s Not (Do Your Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move (Aladdin Paperbacks, 1995); The Alphabet From Z to A (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1994); Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1978); Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Aladdin Paperbacks, 1972); and The Tenth Good Thing About Barney (Aladdin Paperbacks, 1971).

A graduate of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, Viorst is the recipient of various awards for her journalism and psychological writings. She lives in Washington, D.C.