Laura Pedersen

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Laura Pedersen (born October 8, 1965, in Buffalo, New York) is an American author. After graduating high school in 1983 she moved to Manhattan and began an entry-level job at the American Stock Exchange. At age twenty, she was the youngest person to have a seat and became a partner in a trading firm, while earning a finance degree at New York University 1987.

Her first book, Play Money (1991), became a bestseller, and she appeared on CNN, Oprah, Good Morning America, Primetime Live, and David Letterman. In 1994 President Clinton honored Pedersen as one of Ten Outstanding Young Americans. She was a columnist for The New York Times (1995-2002). Her first novel, Going Away Party, won the Three Oaks Prize for Fiction (2001). Other novels include The Hallie Palmer series ─ Beginner’s Luck, Heart’s Desire and The Big Shuffle.

Beginner’s Luck was chosen by Barnes & Noble for their “Discover Great New Writers” program and by Borders for “Original Voices.” Additional writing includes the novel Last Call and a collection of short stories The Sweetest Hours. She teaches at the Booker T. Washington Learning Center in East Harlem and belongs to the national literary association P.E.N.