Hailed as “a strong new voice in children’s literature” by Kirkus Reviews, Helen Hemphill grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas and now lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee and Austin, Texas.

Her first novel Long Gone Daddy (Front Street 2006) won the 2007 Teddy Award for young adult fiction from the Writers’ League of Texas and was named to the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age. In 2007, her novel Runaround (Front Street 2007) was named a Top Ten Youth Romance by Booklist. Her new book for middle school readers, The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones (Front Street 2008), won the Virginia M. Law Award from the Daughters of The Republic of Texas Library for most distinguished book on Texas history for young adult readers. It is also listed in the best books of 2008 by Banks State College and was an on the 2009 Winter Indie Picks' List.

Helen holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College.