Join LILRC when we welcome author Mark Oppenheimer, to discuss his highly-anticipated biography of Judy Blume, one of the world’s most beloved literary voices, showcasing a life as triumphant and inspiring as the stories she crafted.

To know the name Judy Blume is to know and love literature. Her influential novels turned classics—including Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great; Forever…; and Summer Sisters—touched the lives of tens of millions of adults and children. For fifty-five years her work has done something revolutionary: rewired the world’s expectation of what literature for young people can be—frank, candid, earthy, and unafraid to show the messier sides of humanity. But too little has been known about the real woman behind the iconic persona, and the unlikely journey of her literary ascension, until now.

Seasoned journalist and lifelong Blume fan Mark Oppenheimer is uniquely positioned to tell this story. He had complete access to unpublished writings, private papers, and 100+ interviews with Blume, along with her friends and associates, while writing JUDY BLUME: A Life (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, March 10, 2026). The result is a revealing, captivating, often surprising portrait of this beloved author.

PRAISE FOR JUDY BLUME: A LIFE

“At last—a biography of Judy Blume that is worthy of its subject. Oppenheimer is a masterful chronicler of Blume’s remarkable

life and extraordinary impact. Writers and readers alike will leave this work emboldened, inspired, and encouraged.”

—Tayari Jones, bestselling author of An American Marriage

“What a lovely, tender, and thoughtful book! As a child of the 1970s, I read this almost as avidly as I once read the works of Judy Blume herself. Mark Oppenheimer has captured not only the story but the spirit of Blume as an author, mentor, mother, and fully realized human being. This pairing of biographer and subject has produced something special.”

— Beverly Gage,winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography for G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century

“[A] thoughtful, detailed, and nuanced biography . . . It seems almost inevitable that all evidence points to Blume being the cool, honest, and empathetic ally readers would expect from the creator of characters as memorable as Margaret, Peter, and Fudge. Oppenheimer's first biography is engaging, revealing, satisfying, and a fitting tribute.”

—Booklist, (starred review)

“[I]mpressive biography . . . Along with her professional career, Oppenheimer provides insights into Blume’s personal life,

including the dissonance she felt being seen as ‘a sage, a guru’ by children and parents while simultaneously going through a divorce. Fans will be delighted.”

—Publishers Weekly, (starred review)

“[P]aints a picture of a diligent, driven writer seeking a unique voice . . . A buoyant biography of a writer who redefined young people’s literature.”

—Kirkus Reviews

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Oppenheimer has been covering American religion for 25 years. He holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale, and has taught at Stanford, Wesleyan, Wellesley, NYU, Boston College, and Yale, where he was the founding director of the Yale Journalism Initiative. From 2010 to 2016, he wrote the “Beliefs” column for The New York Times, and he has also written for publications including The New Yorker, The Nation, GQ, Slate, and many more. He created Unorthodox, the world’s most popular podcast about Jewish life and culture, with over 7 million downloads. More recently, he hosted an eight-part podcast called Gatecrashers, about the history of Jews and antisemitism at Ivy League schools. He is the author of five books, including The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia and, most recently, Squirrel Hill:

The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood. He edits Arc magazine and lives in Connecticut with his wife, four daughters, one son, and one dog.

LILRC members who attend are eligible to receive door prize copies of the book!

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For questions, please email Eliscia Cirrone, ecirrone@lilrc.org.

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