Teresa E. Harris

I was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey, where I still live. I write books for middle-grade readers and young adults, and have been writing for a very long time. I distinctly remember a story about a pair of time-traveling cats as early as fifth grade. When I am not writing, I am teaching high school English in another town in—you guessed it—New Jersey.

There are two things I have a lot of: books and degrees. I feel much the same way about books as I do about cats: the more I have, the happier I am. Though I have many books, I only have two cats, Baxter and Nox. I attended Columbia University, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in English and later received a master of fine arts in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College, where I was lucky enough to win awards for my writing, including the Flying Pig Grade-A, Number-One Ham Humor Award. Now, I am pursuing my doctorate in education at Seton Hall. I love learning just as much as I love books—and cats—but I love nothing more than telling stories. 

I am the author of the picture book Summer Jackson: Grown Up, several American Girl books, and the middle grade novel The Perfect Place, which was selected as one of Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year in 2015. My most recent novel, Words Like Magic, will be published by Penguin Random House in 2026.  

You can find me on Instagram at @teresa_e_harris. Stop by and see me sometime!