Cynthia Voigt was born Cynthia Irving February 25, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated Smith College in Massachusetts and worked in advertising in New York City. In 1964, she married and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she started teaching. After divorcing in 1972, she taught high school English in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and elementary English in Annapolis. She began writing again and remarried in 1974, to Walter Voigt, and is the mother of two children, Peter and Jessica.

Significance and Awards
* Dicey's Song: Newbery Medal 1983
* The Callender Papers: Edgar Allan Poe Award Young Adult category 1984
* A Solitary Blue: Newbery Honor Book 1984; Phoenix Award Honor Book 2003