Paul Zindel

Paul Zindel (1936-2003) was an American playwright, young adult novelist, and educator best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play 'The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds' (1971) and his debut YA novel 'The Pigman.' Drawing from his troubled childhood on Staten Island and experiences as a high school chemistry teacher, he authored over 50 books exploring themes of alienation, adolescent struggles, and family dysfunction.[1][2][3]