Ally Carter is an American author of young adult and adult fiction. She is best known for the Gallagher Girls and Heist Society series. Her books include I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (2006) and Heist Society (2010), both selected for the Texas Lone Star reading list.
Ally Carter was born Sarah Leigh Fogleman and chose the pen name Ally Carter to separate her young adult work. “I wanted my books to sit close to Jennifer Crusie’s on the shelf,” she said. Carter studied agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University, graduating in 1997. She earned a master's degree in Agricultural Resource and Managerial Economics at Cornell University.
Carter’s writing career began with two adult fiction novels. Cheating at Solitaire (2005) and Learning to Play Gin (2006) were written in her spare time. She then moved into young adult fiction with the Gallagher Girls series.
Her first YA book, I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (2006), introduced a spy school for girls. The book was selected for the 2007–2008 Texas Lone Star reading list. The sequel, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (2007), remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for ten weeks. The series continued with four more novels, ending with United We Spy (2013).
Carter launched the Heist Society series in 2010. The first book, Heist Society, followed a girl trying to clear her father’s name by recovering stolen paintings. It was also a Texas Lone Star book in 2011. The series grew to include Uncommon Criminals (2011) and Perfect Scoundrels (2013). The crossover novella Double Crossed (2013) links the Heist Society and Gallagher Girls worlds.
In 2015, Carter began the Embassy Row series with All Fall Down. This trilogy ended with Take the Key and Lock Her Up (2016). Her standalone novel Not If I Save You First (2018) features the daughter of a Secret Service agent and the president’s son.
Ally Carter expanded into middle grade fiction with Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor (2020). She later added adult romantic thrillers such as The Blonde Identity (2023).
Ally Carter lives in Oklahoma.
Photo credit: FB @theallycarter
