Madeline Olsen

Madeline Olsen grew up in Murray, Utah, as the seventh child, which according to legend, either makes her very lucky or very unlucky. She graduated summa cum laude in English and Creative Writing at Brigham Young University where she won awards in the David O. McKay essay contest and the Vera Mayhew Hinkley contest for speculative fiction. After completing her undergraduate degree, she completed her MFA in Writing Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the New School in New York City. While there, she received the SCBWI Student Writer Award, an international honor given to up-and-coming writers in the field of children’s books. Madeline became interested in international law and religious freedom while working for Social Research: An International Quarterly and its affiliate, Endangered Scholars Worldwide, and she is honored to have the opportunity to work as a Center Fellow this summer. When she’s not doing homework or working on her novels, she prefers to spend her time upside down and flying as a circus aerialist.