Laura Hillenbrand (b. 1967) is the author of the acclaimed Seabiscuit: An American Legend, a non-fiction account of the career of the great Seabiscuit racehorse for which she won the 2001 William Hill Sports Book of the Year. The book later became the basis of Seabiscuit's 2003 film. Her essays have been published in The New Yorker magazine, Equus magazine, American Heritage, The Blood-Horse, Thoroughbred Times, The Backstretch, Turf and Sport Digest and many more. Her 1998 American Heritage article on horse Seabiscuit won the Eclipse Award for Writing Magazine. Born in Fairfax, Virginia, Hillenbrand studied at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, but was forced to leave before graduation when she contracted chronic fatigue syndrome with which she has struggled ever since. She is currently living in Washington, D.C.
