Donna Jo Napoli
Donna Jo Napoli is a linguist and prolific children's/YA fiction author.
She earned her BA in mathematics (1970) and PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures (1973) from Harvard, followed by postdoctoral work at MIT. She has taught linguistics at prestigious institutions including Smith College, University of Michigan (where she earned tenure in 1981 and full professorship in 1984), Georgetown, and Swarthmore.
Napoli has authored or edited 17 linguistics books and held numerous grants from organizations like the National Science Foundation.
She has five children, seven grandchildren, and lives outside Philadelphia, enjoying gardening and breadmaking.
