Karen Cushman (born October 4, 1941) is an American writer of historical fiction.
Cushman's 1995 novel The Midwife's Apprentice won the Newbery Medal for children's literature, and her 1994 novel Catherine, Called Birdy won a Newbery Honor. She has a bachelor of arts degree in Greek and English from Stanford University and master's degrees in human behavior and museum studies. For eleven years, she was adjunct professor in the Museum Studies Department at John F. Kennedy University before resigning in 1996 to write full-time. She lives and writes on Vashon Island, Washington.
The Ballad of Lucy Whipple was made into a TV film, broadcast in 2001. Catherine Called Birdy was made into a film in 2022, see Catherine Called Birdy (film).