Susan Goldman Rubin

Although she planned on becoming an artist and illustrated her first three picture books, she soon began to focus on writing non-fiction and doing her own photo research. Rubin has published more that 30 books for young people, including "Margaret Bourke-White: Her Pictures Were Her Life", an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and Smithsonian Notable Book for Children, and "Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the Children of Terezin", winner of many awards including the 2000 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Older Readers, and a finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards.

Her most recent book is "Steven Spielberg: Crazy for Movies", the only biography that has ever received clearance and cooperation from Spielberg and his family. Rubin first approached Spielberg's mother, Leah Adler, at her tablecloth Kosher restaurant in Los Angeles. Rubin brought copies of her books as samples of her work. At first Adler said she and her family never gave interviews to book authors. But while Rubin ate lunch, Adler looked at the books. She came back and said she liked her books and wanted to do the project. The next step was gaining an okay from Spielberg and DreamWorks.

Since Rubin shared Spielberg's passion for movies, and a desire to educate the public about the Holocaust, she was given clearance as well as permission to interview his family and colleagues, and to publish never before seen family photos from his archives and his sister's albums. Originally intended for young people, the biography has become a book for the whole family. The Spielberg's consider this the best biography of Steven.

Rubin has been an instructor for UCLA Extension Writer's Program for 15 years, and teaches courses in writing for children.

Rubin will publish Searching for Anne Frank: Letters from Amsterdam to Iowa in conjunction with the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Harry N. Abrams Books in fall 2003.