Justine Larbalestier
Justine Larbalestier (/ˌlɑrbəˈlɛsti.ɛər/ LAR-bə-LES-tee-air) (born 23 September 1967) is an Australian writer of young-adult fiction best known for the 2009 novel Liar. Her surname has been pronounced in several different ways. She says online that Lar-bal-est-ee-air is correct: Q: How do you pronounce your surname? A: Lar-bal-est-ee-air. It can also be pronounced Lar-bal-est-ee-ay or Lar-bal-est-ee-er. Those are all fine by me. Friends at school used to pronounce it: Lavaworm. I have to really like you to let you get away with that one, but. Larbalestier was born and raised in Sydney. She now alternates residence in Sydney and New York City. In 2001 she married the American science fiction writer Scott Westerfeld. They met in New York City while she was researching her PhD thesis. They have different stories of how they met.