Paul Zindel (1936-2003) was a playwright, young adult novelist, and educator. His most well-known work, The Pigman, is a children's book often taught in classrooms to study themes of peer pressure, loss, family, and death, despite being one of the most frequently banned books in America. Zindel's debut was The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, a play for which he received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Zindel was also awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association for his contribution to young adult literature.