Sue Monk Kidd
Sue Monk Kidd experienced the desire to write at an early age, even writing a novel when she was 13. She is now the author of two widely acclaimed nonfiction books, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter (1996) and When the Heart Waits (1990). Her first published novel, the best-seller The Secret Life of Bees (Penguin, 2002), was nominated for the Orange Prize in England. She has won a Poets and Writers Award for the short story that began this novel. Two of her short stories, including an excerpt from The Secret Life of Bees, were selected as notable stories in Best American Short Stories. Her most recent novel is the best-seller The Mermaid Chair (Penguin, 2005). Ms. Kidd lives in South Carolina.