DEMETRA BRODSKY is a first generation Greek-American author and former award-winning graphic designer & art director. She is the critically-acclaimed author of LAST GIRLS, a 2021 International Thriller Writers Finalist for Best Young Adult Book, a CNN Underscored’s Best Books of May 2020, a 2021 Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) Reading Circle Commission Recommended Title, and most recently a 2022-2023 Black-eyed Susan Award Nominee (Maryland Association of School Librarians) and a long-listed title for the CLCSC Award from The Children’s Literature Council of Southern California. DIVE SMACK, her debut Young Adult Thriller, was a 2018 Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, ALAN Pick (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE), and a Spring/Summer 2018 Publishers Marketplace Buzz Book for Young Adults. She has a profound appreciation for personal histories and travel. When not writing, Demetra enjoys reading at the beach, hiking, DIY art and remodeling projects, photography, and is working on becoming a potions master by subjecting anyone willing to her ongoing experimentation with cocktails, as well as coffee and tea-based drinks.
As a daughter of immigrants, Demetra feels a great sense of pride seeing her books in the hands of readers. Growing up with parents who were struggling to learn the English language at the same time she attended primary school presented memorable challenges for the author. Having a parent who can’t read above the third-grade level has taught her the importance of literacy awareness and education in our country. Receiving her first literary recognition from the Junior Library Guild for her debut novel was particularly moving for an author who credits librarians (both school and public) with fostering her love of reading and writing at young age; stepping in to enhance her educational experience by presenting her with literary views into worlds she may not have otherwise seen. Demetra writes books centered around dark family secrets and often includes aspects of the immigrant experience in her work.
She is currently hard at work on her next novel. Say hi on Instagram and TikTok.