After meeting an Amish teenager during a trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Nancy Grossman imagined what it would be like to take the girl home with her. Eventually those imaginings became her first novel, A World Away, which was named to Kirkus Reviews' list of the Best Teen Books of 2012. She earned BSW and MSW degrees from the University of Illinois, and had a short-lived career as a social worker before completing an MA in the Teaching of Writing at Columbia College. At DePaul University she holds the position of Associate Director of the University Honors Program and teaches courses in Creative Writing, Community Service Studies, and Young Adult Fiction. She is currently working on a middle grade novel.