Amelie Lyons received a B.A. in English from Boston College and an M.A. in Sociology from The New School. She has worked in development for various non-profit organizations, including Books Through Bars, TakeRoot Justice and the NY Civil Liberties Union, and is currently Manager of Special Events at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She became fascinated with the character of Nancy Drew as a child because Nancy was the personification of what Lyons wanted to be – smart, capable, fearless, and trusted by the adults around her. As Lyons researched the founding and evolution of the series, she came to realize that the many positive qualities of Nancy the heroine reflected those of her creator, Mildred Benson.

Mildred Augustine Benson was born in 1905 in Iowa. After attending a production of a play in middle school, she knew that she was destined to become a writer. She published a story at 14, and was the first female journalism undergrad and first journalism graduate at the University of Iowa. After college, she answered an ad for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins) to help revive a flagging young adult series (Ruth Fielding). Her work was well-received, and Stratemeyer assigned her to ghostwrite a new series about a girl sleuth. Benson helped create the character of Nancy Drew in 1930 in The Secret of the Old Clock, the first book of the iconic series. She wrote 23 or the original 30 books. After she was forced to sign away all rights and knowledge of her authorship, Benson proceeded to write over 130 additional books under at least a dozen pseudonyms. Her personal favorite was Penny Parker, Girl Reporter. Benson also wrote a column for the Toledo Blade newspaper. In 1980, a suit brought by Simon & Schuster (who were buying the Stratemeyer catalogue) discovered that Benson was indeed the originator and writer of the beloved Nancy Drew stories. Mildred Benson was finally acknowledged for her impact on generations of young girls who benefited from reading about a brave, smart and confident hero.