Holly Black née Riggenbach (born 10 November 1971) is an American writer and editor, best known for authoring The Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of children's fantasy books she created with illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi. Black was born in New Jersey in 1971, and during her early years her family lived in a "decrepit Victorian house". Black graduated with a B.A. in English from The College of New Jersey in 1994.
She worked as a production editor on medical journals including The Journal of Pain while studying at Rutgers University. She considered becoming a librarian as a back-up career, but writing drew her away.