Biography of Patricia McCormick

Patricia McCormick is an American journalist and author of several critically acclaimed novels. Raised in a traditional Catholic household in Central Pennsylvania, her parents discouraged her career in writing and suggested she find work in the government sector. While McCormick was employed in state government, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident occurred mere miles from her office. Witnessing the media coverage of this tragedy convinced McCormick that journalism was her calling.

McCormick attended Rosemont College from 1974-1978 before earning her MS from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and an MFA from the New School in 1999. Her novels rely on thorough field research and extensive interviews. For example, when researching for the novel Never Fall Down, she spent a month in Cambodia interviewing a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide.

McCormick lives in New York City with her husband and children. She regularly contributes to acclaimed magazines, such as The New York Times.


Study Guides on Works by Patricia McCormick

Patricia McCormick's Sold tells the story of Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old girl from Nepal, who is sold into the Indian sex slave trade. The novel, published in 2006, was inspired by Patricia McCormick's interviews with Indian and Nepalese sex...