Megan Whalen Turner (born 1965) is an American author of fantasy fiction for young adults. She received her BA with honors in English language and literature from the University of Chicago in 1987. She is best known for The Queen's Thief series of novels. The first book in the series, The Thief, won a Newbery Honor award. The second, third, and fourth books in the series are The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, and A Conspiracy of Kings. She has also published a collection of short stories, Instead of Three Wishes. Additional work includes the short story, "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box," published in a collection called Firebirds, edited by Sharyn November. "The Baby in the Night Deposit Box" was selected for The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. She has also written two uncollected short stories, "Thief!" and "Eddis," which are set in the world of The Queen's Thief.
Her husband is the cognitive scientist Mark Turner. They have three sons.