Gloria Whelan

Gloria Whelan is an American author of novels, stories and poems, many of them for young readers. Born in Detroit, she studied at the University of Michigan, earning a degree in social work, and worked as a social worker and in children's services before turning to writing. She later taught American literature at Spring Arbor College in Michigan.

Her books for young readers often follow children who face hardship in other times and places. They include The Secret Keeper (1990), an Edgar Award finalist; Once on This Island (1995); Homeless Bird (2000), about a young widow in India, which won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature; Angel on the Square (2001); and Listening for Lions (2005).

She lives in northern Michigan.