“We, and I think I'm speaking for many writers, don't know what it is that sometimes comes to make our books alive. All we can do is write dutifully and day after day, every day, giving our work the very best of what we are capable. I don't that we can consciously put the magic in; it doesn't work that way. When the magic comes, it's a gift.”

American writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry

Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She is best known for her 1962 children's book A Wrinkle in Time, which won the Newbery Medal. Her work spans several forms, but she is most closely associated with writing for younger readers. She later received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1998, an honor recognizing her lasting contribution to young adult literature.