Kristin Levine

Kristin Sims Levine (born 22 April 1974) is an American novelist who authored The Lions of Little Rock, a New-York Historical Society Children’s History Book Prize winner. It is a fictional story about friendship based around true historical events of the Little Rock Nine in Little Rock, Arkansas. In September 2019, it was announced that rights to Lions was optioned for development of a featured film. Levine has written other historical fictional books, The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had and The Paper Cowboy, which take place during the United States' entry into World War I and McCarthyism era America of the 1950s, respectively. Levine's most recent book, The Jigsaw Jungle, is about a daughter who discovers a family secret. Levine currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her two daughters.

Levine graduated from Swarthmore College in 1997 with a degree in German. She then worked as an au pair in Vienna, Austria. Later she became a professor of screenwriting at American University in Washington, DC. Today, Levine continues to reside in Alexandria with her two daughters.

Levine’s first novel, The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, was originally written as a screenplay. After rejections by various studios due to the cost of producing a period movie with children, Levine turned it into a novel that was published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 2009. The story was inspired by her paternal grandfather’s childhood in rural Alabama in 1917. The novel tells a story of a friendship between a white farm boy and an African-American city girl during a time when such friendships were not allowed by racist societal norms.

Levine’s second and best selling novel, The Lions of Little Rock, was inspired by her mother’s childhood in Little Rock, Arkansas. The novel tells a story of a friendship between two little girls whose friendship is made difficult because of racism in a post-segregation South. The girls are caught up in the inflamed racial divide the year after the Arkansas National Guard is called in to escort a group of nine black students, the Little Rock Nine, into a formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Levine’s third novel, The Paper Cowboy, was inspired by her father’s childhood in 1950s-era Downers Grove, a southwestern suburb of Chicago. The story revolves around the fears spread by McCarthyism in a communist fearing America. The novel touches on the topic of bullying and the impact of making false accusations.

Levine’s fourth novel, The Jigsaw Jungle, is about a young girl whose father has disappeared and must go on a clue searching adventure to find him. Ultimately, she finds her father but discovers a secret he had been keeping from her and her mother.