Valerie Martin is the author of twelve novels, four short story collections and a biography of St. Francis of Assisi.  She has been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship. 

In 1990, her novel Mary Reilly was translated into 16 languages, won the Kafka prize, was shortlisted for the Prix Femina (France) and made into a motion picture directed by Stephen Frears.

 In 2003, Valerie’s novel Property was shortlisted for the Prix Femina and won Britain’s Women’s Prize.

Three volumes of a trilogy for middle-grade readers, Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea, Anton and Cecil: Cats on Track, and Anton and Cecil: Cats Aloft, co-written with Valerie’s niece Lisa Martin, began publication from Algonquin Young Readers in October of 2013. The final volume appeared in the fall of 2016.

Valerie has taught in writing programs at Mt. Holyoke College, the University of Massachusetts, and Sarah Lawrence College, among others. She resides in Claremont, CA.