Kathryn Stockett is an American novelist best known for her bestselling debut novel, The Help (2009), which sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, she earned a degree in English and creative writing from the University of Alabama before moving to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing. After a 17-year gap between novels, she returned with The Calamity Club (2026), another historical novel set in Mississippi during the Great Depression. Stockett divides her time between Mississippi and New York City and continues to draw inspiration from the people, history, and culture of the American South.