Carolyn Keene is not actually an author - the pen-name was used by the Stratemeyer syndicate to write the many Nancy Drew books.
Carolyn Keene Ghostwriters:
Edward Straemeyer:
Edward Stratemeyer (October 4, 1862, in Elizabeth, New Jersey — May 10, 1930) was an American publisher and writer of books for children. Stratemeyer was the founder of Stratemeyer Syndicate.
At first, Edward himself was the author of Nancy Drew, and he used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. In 1929, Edward Stratemeyer, who was the man behind the Hardy Boys series, hired Mildred Wirt Bensen, a young journalist, to ghostwrite a new mystery series for young girls. - she ended up writing the text for 23 of the first 25 Nancy Drew books.
Mildred Wirt Bensen:
Mildred Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905 – May 28, 2002) was an American author of children's books, in particular several Nancy Drew mysteries. Writing under Stratemeyer Syndicate pen name Carolyn Keene from 1929 to 1947, she contributed to 23 of the first 25 originally published Nancy Drew mysteries. She was one of 28 individuals who helped produce the Syndicate's Nancy Drew mystery books from 1929 to 1984. Edward Stratemeyer hired Mildred Benson in 1926 to assist in expanding his roughly-drafted stories with Syndicate directed, juvenile text in order to satisfy increasing demand for his series.
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams:
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (December 11, 1892 – March 27, 1982) was an American juvenile mystery novelist and publisher who authored some 200 books over her literary career. She wrote many books in the Nancy Drew series (under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene) and a few in the Hardy Boys series (under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon). She also oversaw other ghostwriters who wrote for these and many other series.
Other Carolyn Keene Ghostwriters:
Other ghostwriters who wrote for the Nancy Drew series included James Duncan Lawrence, Walter Karig, Nancy Axelrad, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., Margaret Scherf, and Susan Wittig Albert. Also involved in the Nancy Drew writing process were Harriet Stratemeyer Adams's daughters, who gave input on the series and sometimes helped to choose book titles; the Syndicate's secretary, Harriet Otis Smith, who invented the characters of Nancy's friends Bess and George; and the editors at publishers Grosset and Dunlap. The editors at Grosset and Dunlap were so heavily involved in writing the Drew books that they won the rights to the first 56 titles as the result of a 1980 lawsuit.
--compiled from wikipedia.
