Evelyn Minshull was born February 4, 1929, in Templeton, Pennsylvania, to carpenter Harry Grant and Clara Lillian (Kammerdiener) White. She married Fred Minshull, an applicator, on June 22, 1951. Her children include Valerie, Melanie, Michael (deceased), and Robin. Minshull was educated at Edinboro State College graduating with a BSin 1951 and Slippery Rock State College, MEdin 1972. Minshull belongs to the National Education Association and the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

Minshull has had many career interests throughout her life. She was an art teacher in a number of Pennsylvania public schools: Pleasantville from 1951 to 1952, Glendale, Arizona from 1952 to 1953, and Mercer from 1953 to 1956. She worked at Commodore Perry High School in Hadley as an English teacher, starting in 1967, and as a teacher in the gifted children's program. Minshull is a member of the board and member of the tutorial faculty at the St. David's Christian Writers' Conference since 1975. Evelyn Minshull is a reader for the Academy's Christian Writing and Writing for Children series, and she is much in demand as a reader for independent writing projects. A prolific and diversified writer, Minshull is the author of three Biblical novels, five mysteries for middle-agers (children 8-12), two picture books, seven collections of devotional materials, three adult mysteries, and a book of poetry; her devotional poetry has been included in several recent anthologies.

A retired public school teacher of English, Art, and Gifted, Minshull has conducted over 50 weeklong Elderhostel workshops and many shorter workshops. She has taught at several writers' conferences including one year at the Writing Academy—and she is the director and driving force of the St. David's mini-conference held every spring in her hometown of Mercer, Pennsylvania. Several members of the Academy have received inspiration and encouragement at Minshull's one-day conferences.

At the St. David's Christian Writers' Conference, Minshull won the very first Lois Henderson Award and the first Shirley Eaby Spirit of St. Davids Award. One of her picture books won a Silver Angel award for excellence. She won an award for Juvenile Writing at a conference in Bloomington, Indiana, and once "long ago," she won a typewriter as a prize in a Writer's Digest writing contest.

Minshull also wrote a review of Simple Gifts: A Memoir of a Shaker Village. An inspirational author, she speaks at numerous conferences, such as the Pennwriters Annual Conference in Pittsburgh held in May.

Minshull has much advice for aspiring young writers, especially of inspirational literature: "Keep the language simple but vivid with imagery. Once you choose a focal point, design your worship experience so that every element radiates from that point and reinforces it." And to those writing for children: "You've often heard, `Don't write down to children.' I'd take it a bit further. Write up to children to their level of imagination and wonder." Evelyn Minshull told Contemporary Authors Online: "At school, I am deeply involved in fostering creative writing. Since 1967, [I] have been developing a creative writing program which begins in the elementary, and have organized an annual Writers' Day for interested high school students, in which a panel of published writers work with the students."

At the time of this writing, Minshull resides in Mercer, Pennsylvania and works at Commodore Perry High School in Hadley. Minshull likes to knit booties to give away—even to strangers. She has eight flower beds (at last count), and she continues the tradition started by her mother of taking flowers to church every Sunday morning during growing season. She complains that she has "too many books I don't have time to read, enough yarn that I couldn't use it up in three lifetimes, and until recently enough fabric to stock a textile mill." She gave away the fabric and sold the sewing machine, but, as she freely confesses, she remains addicted to chocolate.