Barbara Kingsolver is a renowned American novelist, essayist, and poet. She was born in 1955 in Annapolis, Maryland but grew up in rural Kentucky. Kingsolver graduated from DePauw University in 1977 with a degree in Biology, and later earned a master's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona. Her body of work, including "The Bean Trees," "Animal Dreams," "The Poisonwood Bible," and "The Lacuna," often explores themes of social justice, biodiversity, and the interaction between humans and their communities and environments. Kingsolver has received numerous accolades for her writing, including the National Humanities Medal, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Orange Prize for Fiction. She is also a committed environmental activist and co-founder of the Bellwether Prize for Fiction. Kingsolver currently resides in Virginia with her family.