Carolyn Parkhurst (born January 18, 1971, Manchester, New Hampshire) is an American author who has published five books. Her first, the 2003 best-seller The Dogs of Babel^[2] also known as Lorelei's Secret in the UK,^[3] was a New York Times Notable Book and on The New York Times Best Seller list.^[4]

She followed that effort with The New York Times bestselling Lost and Found^[5] in June 2006 and The Nobodies Album^[6][7][8] in June 2010. Her first children's book, written with Dan Yaccarino, Cooking with Henry and Elliebelly, was released in Fall, 2010.^[9][10] Parkhurst's novel Harmony was published in 2016 by Pamela Dorman / Viking.^[11]

Parkhurst says she wrote her first story at age three by dictating The Table Family to her mother. An only child, she grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts; her parents separated when she was two years old.^[12] Parkhurst spent so much time reading as a child, she had to be sent outside to play. She attended Belmont Day School and the Winsor School in Boston.^[12] Her first story in print was for a Halloween contest by a local newspaper.^[4][13]

Her first job in publishing came at age 15, writing record reviews for Star Hits magazine.^[13] Parkhurst received her B.A. degree from Wesleyan University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from American University.^[4][9] Married since 1998^[12] and the mother of two children,^[9] she currently lives in Washington, D.C.^[13]