Marissa Moss
An author and illustrator who gave voice to the secret inner world of pre-teens through the handwritten diary of her beloved character, Amelia.
Born 1959 (age 67)·American children's book author·Birthday: September 29·Baby Boomers
Biography
Marissa Moss tapped into a universal childhood experience: the urge to document your life in a private notebook. With a background in art history and a passion for storytelling, she created Amelia's Notebook, a series that looked like a real kid's journal, complete with loopy handwriting, doodles in the margins, and glued-in 'artifacts.' Through Amelia's funny, anxious, and authentic voice, Moss tackled the dramas of moving, making friends, and dealing with siblings with rare honesty. The series became a publishing phenomenon, not by talking down to children, but by mirroring their own thoughts and artistic impulses back at them. Moss's work validated the importance of every child's personal narrative and inspired a generation to pick up a pen and draw.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Marissa was born in 1959, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Marissa Was Born
The biggest hits of 1959
#1 Movie
Ben-Hur
Best Picture
Ben-Hur
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Marissa's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1959Born
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1964Started school
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1972Became a teenager
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Could drive
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1977Could vote
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1980Turned 21
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1989Turned 30
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 40
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 50
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 60
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 67 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Created the bestselling 'Amelia's Notebook' series, which has sold millions of copies and spawned numerous spin-offs.
- Her book 'Barbed Wire Baseball' won the California Book Award gold medal for Juvenile Literature.
- Authored and illustrated the 'Mighty Jackie' picture book about baseball player Jackie Mitchell.
Did You Know?
The Amelia series was inspired by journals Moss kept as a child and by notes she exchanged with a friend.
She initially struggled to find a publisher for Amelia, as the handwritten format was considered too unconventional.
Moss holds a PhD in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley.
“A notebook is a place where you can be the hero of your own story.”
