Judith Marcia Blume (nรฉe Sussman; born February 12, 1938) is an American writer of children’s, young adult, and adult fiction. She began writing in 1959 and has published more than 26 novels. Among her best-known works are Superfudge (1980), Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (1970), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), Deenie (1973), Blubber (1974) and Double Fudge (2002).
๐ Early Life and Education
Blume was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and graduated from New York University in 1961. She was born Judith Marcia Sussman on February 12, 1938, and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey in a Jewish family, the daughter of homemaker Esther Sussman and dentist Rudolph Sussman. She has a brother, David, who is five years older.
Blume witnessed hardships and death throughout her childhood. When she was in third grade, Blume’s older brother had a kidney infection that led Blume, her brother, and her mother to temporarily move to Miami Beach to help him recover for two years. In 1951 and 1952, there were three airplane crashes in her hometown of Elizabeth, and Blume’s father helped to identify the unrecognizable remains.
She graduated from the all-girls’ Battin High School in 1956 and enrolled in Boston University. She later transferred to New York University, where she lived in a dormitory on Washington Square Park. In 1959, Blume’s father died suddenly of a heart attack. One month after her father’s death, on August 15, 1959, she married lawyer John M. Blume.
โ๏ธ Writing Career
Seeking to explore a creative outlet that would complement her role as a homemaker, Blume began writing stories. Following two years of publisher rejections, Blume published her first book, The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo, in 1969. Her third book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (1970), was a breakthrough best-seller and a trailblazing novel in young adult literature.
Blume was one of the first young adult authors to write novels focused on such controversial topics as masturbation, menstruation, teen sex, birth control, and death. Her novels have sold over 82 million copies and have been translated into 32 languages. In 1975, Blume published Forever, which displayed teen sex as normal.
In addition to writing for younger audiences, Blume published works for adults, including Wifey (1978) and Smart Women (1983) which reached the top of The New York Times Best Seller list. Blume’s third adult novel, Summer Sisters (1998), was widely praised and sold more than three million copies. As of 2020, her books have sold over 82 million copies and they have been translated into 32 languages.
โ๏ธ Controversy and Activism
Blume’s novels have been praised for teaching children and young adults about their bodies. However, in the United States, the topics of her works have generated criticism and controversy and she is one of the most frequently banned authors in US schools and libraries. Five of Blume’s books were included in the American Library Association list of the top 100 most banned books of the 1990s, with Forever in seventh place.
As well as writing, Blume has been an activist against the banning of books in the United States. This led Blume to join the National Coalition Against Censorship which aims to protect the freedom to read. As of 2020, Blume is still a board member for the National Coalition Against Censorship. She is also the founder and trustee of The Kids Fund, a charitable and educational foundation.
๐ฌ Film and Media Adaptations
The first media adaptation of Blume’s novels was the production of a TV film based on Blume’s novel Forever that premiered on CBS in 1978. In 2012, Blume’s 1981 novel Tiger Eyes was adapted into a film version, which was the first of Blume’s novels to be turned into a theatrical feature film. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. was released as a feature film in 2023. In 2025, Blume’s novel Forever was adapted into a Netflix series show.
| Category | Detail | Year | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | Judith Marcia Sussman | 1938 | Elizabeth, New Jersey |
| First Book | The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo | 1969 | Published after two years of rejections |
| Breakthrough Novel | Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. | 1970 | Trailblazing young adult novel |
| Total Sales | Over 82 million copies | As of 2020 | Translated into 32 languages |