Born: 1954
Ohio connection: Birth
Cleveland
Lynda was born to Oliver, an engineer, and Shirley (Peterson), a teacher, in 1954, in Cleveland, Ohio. She received her Bachelor’s degree (1979) and her Master’s degree (1982) from the University of Washington, Seattle. She married business executive Wesley Lemmon in 1989 they have one son. Durrant has penned historical young adult novels that focus on pioneer days and on the lives, legends, and hardships of the many U.S. settlers and the Native Americans who encountered them. Several of her novels have been named to state children’s choice awards lists.
Awards:
Young Adult Choice Award, International Reading Association, and Books for the Teenage selection, New York Public Library (NYPL), both for Echohawk; Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies selection, National Council for the Social Studies/Children’s Book Council, 1998, Ohioana Book Award (juvenile category), Ohioana Library Association (OLA), 1999, and Books for the Teenage selection, NYPL, all for The Beaded Moccasins: The Story of Mary Campbell; Ohioana Book Award (juvenile category), OLA, 2001, Quick Picks selection, American Library Association, 2001, and Books for the Teenage selection, NYPL, all for Betsy Zane, the Rose of Fort Henry.