Margery Cuyler - Biography

Biography

I have always written stories, ever since I learned how to write. My creative and wacky family, most of whom are artists, actors, storytellers, and writers, helped me along. My childhood was never dull. I grew up in the oldest house in Princeton, New Jersey, with three brothers and one sister. There were also four cousins who lived with us after their mother died. Computers weren't invented yet and we didn't buy a television until I was eight years old. Most of my childhood was spent playing Charades, Hide-and-go-Seek, Monopoly, and Chess with my siblings and cousins. We also wrote and performed plays. My parents read aloud to us every night. There was a legend that a Hessian ghost haunted our house. Hessian soldiers, hired by the British during the Revolutionary War, used our house as an army barracks during The Battle of Princeton. We didn't believe in the ghost, but many people in Princeton told us stories about it. These stories inspired one of my books, The Battlefield Ghost.

Because of my love for stories and children, I wanted to write children's books and edit them. I've been lucky enough to do both. I worked for 21 years as Editor-in-Chief of Holiday House, Inc., a children's book publisher in New York City. I've also worked at the executive level for other publishers, including Henry Holt and Company, Golden Books, and Winslow Press. Recently, I've been directing the trade program at Marshall Cavendish. It allows me to work at home part of the week, and I'm still able to squeeze in some writing time. I live in Princeton, New Jersey, in the same house where I grew up. My husband, John Perkins, and my two sons, Thomas and Timothy, live with me, as do our two cats, Boomerang and Nikki.