Lilian Garis

Born Lilian Cleo McNamara on October 20, 1873, in Cleveland, Ohio, she became an American author known for writing hundreds of works of juvenile fiction from about 1915 into the early 1940s. Before her long career in books, she worked in journalism and is noted as the first female reporter for the Newark Evening News.

She wrote many stories for young readers, including girls' adventure and school stories, and her work was tied to the booming world of early series fiction. She also wrote in connection with the Stratemeyer Syndicate, the powerhouse behind many popular children's series of the era.

She was married to fellow children's writer Howard R. Garis, and together they were part of a remarkably productive literary household. Lilian Garis died on April 19, 1954, leaving behind a large body of fiction that still survives in library collections and reprints.