Check out the scheduled Authors for the 2011 Collingswood Book Festival!
Amore
Amore is a native of Philadelphia who now resides in Southern New Jersey with her husband and young son. She is a graduate of Trenton State College (The College of New Jersey) with a BA in Psychology. A lifelong story teller, she has worked to put all of that energy into her novels. She is a die hard romantic and works hard to breathe life into those stories with a pen. She believes authors don't have jobs as writers; they have a passion for writing that never quits or dies.With her stories, she reminds us that hope is everlasting, passion is always burning and love is always possible.
George Anastasia
George Anastasia is a longtime crime reporter for the The Philadelphia Inquirer and the host of The Crime Guys on Philadelphia's The Big Talker 1210 AM, Mob Talk on Fox29TV and the weekly podcast Mob Scene on philly.com. He is the co-author of The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies.
Allen Barra
Allen Barra is a sports columnist for the Wall Street Journal, where he also writes about books and film. He is also a regular contributor to Tina Brown’s website, The Daily Beast, Bookforum, Truthdig and the Atlantic. He has twice been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle's Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing. His book Inventing Wyatt Earp: His Life and Many Legends has been in print for eleven years and was recently reissued by the University of Nebraska Press. He is the coauthor of A Whole Different Ball Game, the biography of Marvin Miller, the founder of the major league baseball players union, the author of Clearing The Bases: The Greatest Baseball Debates of The Last Century (a 2003 Sports Illustrated book of the year), and Yogi Berra, Eternal Yankee, which was named one of the top ten biographies of 2009 by Booklist and called “the most favorably reviewed book of the baseball season” by the Charlotte Observer. His next book is Mickey and Willie, The Parallel Lives of Baseball’s Golden Age, due out next summer from Crown/Random House.
Jerry Blavat
Jerry Blavat was one of the early rock-and-roll deejays who revolutionized the profession and invented the "Oldies" format. He had national success in the '60s as host of the popular CBS-TV dance show The Discophonic Scene, but is best known as a high-energy oldies deejay on the air and at live events throughout the Middle Atlantic region. With a successful nightclub outside Atlantic City, NJ (Memories); regular radio shows on 88.5 FM WXPN in Philadelphia, 92.1 FM WVLT in South Jersey, and 98.3 FM WTKU in Atlantic City; and scores of sold-out live dance events every year, Blavat is as popular as ever. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.
Kate Gallison / Irene Fleming
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Born in Philadelphia, Kate Gallison has been at various times a store clerk, a bill collector, a computer programmer, a technical writer, and a museum docent. As Kate Gallison, her writing credits include three private eye novels and five traditional mysteries. Under the name of Irene Fleming, she writes a series about silent movie production in the early twentieth century. The first of these, The Edge of Ruin, came out at the end of April 2010. The critics were pleased with it. The second, The Brink of Fame, will be released in August of 2011. Kate has three grown sons and a bachelor's degree from Thomas Edison College. She lives in Lambertville, NJ, with her librarian husband and their cat. There she divides her time among her family, her writing, and various civic pursuits. She is a member of the Author's Guild, the MWA, Sisters in Crime, and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. She is descended from a convicted Salem witch.
Rosemary Harris
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Rosemary Harris was born in Brooklyn New York and now she, her husband, and their golden retriever Max split their time between Manhattan’s East Side and Fairfield County, Connecticut. After several careers in book retailing , direct marketing, and video/television/public television she traded in her pumps for a yellow legal pad and a stack of pencils and started writing. A small item in the New York Times about a mummified body piqued her interest and subsequent research led to her first book, the Agatha and Anthony-nominated, Pushing Up Daisies, the first title in the Dirty Business mystery series from Minotaur Books. Daisies was followed by last year’s The Big Dirt Nap and in 2010, Dead Head. When she’s not writing or gardening, Rosemary finds time for kayaking and hiking; at last count she’s visited over 70 national parks, monuments, and recreation areas, but her favorites are Yosemite, Glacier and Canyonlands. Rosemary is a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Garden Writers of America and CMGA (Connecticut Master Gardeners Association), and is vice-president of MWA/NY and past president of Sisters in Crime, New England.
Robin Hathaway
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Robin Hathaway began writing at fifty and collected rejection slips until she was sixty, when her novel The Doctor Digs a Grave won the St. Martin’s Malice Domestic prize, and later an Agatha Award. She now has two series both featuring doctor sleuths. Dr. Andrew Fenimore is a Philadelphia cardiologist who practices solo and still makes house calls. Jo Banks is a young woman doctor who provides healthcare to motel residents and makes her motel calls on a motorcycle. The third novel in this series is Sleight of Hand, winner of the David Award at the Deadly Ink conference for the Best Mystery Novel of 2008. Right now Robin is taking a break from her series to work on a spy novel set at Cape May Point during WWII.
Glen Macnow
The co-author of The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies, Glen Macnow is a popular talk-radio host on 610-WIP in Philadelphia, a former writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Detroit Free Press, and co-author of the celebrated The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies.
Jill Maser
Jill Maser graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in comparative literature and embarked upon a hopscotch career of positions from ice rink manager to copywriter to management consultant. She left the corporate world in 2002 to embark upon her writing career. She has completed three novels and growing number of short stories. She writes in several genres and has published work of all lengths (flash fiction through novels). The White Horse Pike was her first non-fiction book. The Black Horse Pike followed soon after. She has lived in the Philadelphia area since 1977 and enjoyed discovering the hidden histories of Penn's campus. She moved to South Jersey in 1992, and was delighted to find bits of history at every turn. She became a member of the Gloucester Township Historical Committee in 2009 and is active in functions at the Gabreil Daveis Tavern.
Christopher McDougall
Christopher McDougall is the author of Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. He is a former war correspondent for the Associated Press. A three time National Magazine Award finalist, he has written for Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, Men's Health, Outside, Men's Journal, and New York. He does his own running among the Amish farms around his home in rural Pennsylvania.
Jen A. Miller
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Jen A. Miller is an independent writer and journalist. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, USAirways magazine, New Jersey Monthly and Wired. She is author of The Jersey Shore: Atlantic City to Cape May, now out in its second edition.
J.J. Murphy
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J.J. Murphy is the author of the popular series of mystery books, The Algonquin Round Table Mysteries, which feature Dorothy Parker as a wisecracking sleuth. An award-winning health care writer in Pennsylvania, J.J. Murphy is also a long-time Dorothy Parker fan. J.J. started writing The Algonquin Round Table Mysteries after the birth of twin daughters, as an escape from toddler television.
Wesley Stace / John Wesley Harding
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Wesley Stace was born in Hastings, Sussex, in 1965, and educated at the King's School, Canterbury, and Jesus College, Cambridge. Under the name John Wesley Harding, he has released 15 albums, ranging from traditional folk to full-on pop music. His most recent pop release, Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead (2009), recorded with the Minus Five, was a critical smash, garnering considerable airplay. His first novel, the international bestseller Misfortune, was published (under his real name) to great acclaim in 2004. His second novel, By George, was published in August 2007; it was one of the New York Public Library's Books To Remember of 2007, and Booklist Editor's Choice for books of the year. His third, Charles Jessold, Considered As A Murderer, was published in July 2010. He has lived in America since 1991, and resides in Philadelphia with his wife Abbey, daughter Tilda, and son Wyn. Photo Credit: Lizzie Himmel
Ellen Jensen Abbott
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Ellen Jensen Abbott is the author of Watersmeet, an IRA Young Adult Book Award Notable and a YALSA Teens' Top Ten Nominee. The sequel, The Centaur's Daughter, is a powerful and moving fantasy dealing with timely issues about identity, prejudice, and war. Ellen grew up in the foothills of New Hampshire's White Mountains - often disappearing for a whole day to build forts, pretend, and read in the fields and forests around her house. She has degrees in English and education from Brown and Harvard Universities. When she is not dreaming up stories about Seldara, she teaches English at a boarding school in Westtown, PA. Ellen, her husband, and two children like to spend time outdoors: camping and hiking in the summer; skiing and snowboarding in the winter. She and her family live in West Chester, PA with their dog and small flock of chickens.
Cyn Balog
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Cyn Balog is the author of young adult paranormal novels Fairy Tale (Delacorte), a 2010 RWA RITA finalist for best romantic fiction, and Sleepless, which Kirkus called "a lovely read." Her latest novel, Starstruck, released this year. Two more novels, Touched, and Dead River will be released soon. She lives in Bucks County with her husband and daughters.
Margie Gelbwasser
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Margie Gelbwasser was born in the former Soviet Union but spent most of her life in New Jersey. Her essays about growing up Russian and Jewish have appeared in Waking Up American: Coming of Age Biculturally, Lilith Magazine, and SMITH Magazine. Her debut YA novel, Inconvenient (November 2010, Flux), was named a 2011 Notable Book for Teens by the Sydney Taylor Awards Committee. It focuses on Alyssa Bondar who must cope with her mother's alcoholism - and the impact the Russian culture has on it - along with a tuned-out father, hot/cold boyfriend and a distant best friend. When not writing, Margie loves being a mom to her three year old boy, hiking, cooking, and watching bad television. She, her husband, son, and two licky kitties—Henry and Amelia—live in the awesome suburbs of New Jersey. Margie's next YA novel, Pieces of Us, is told in four points of view and deals with cyber bullying, abuse, and how one teen's choices affect the other three. It will be published by Flux in March 2012.
Adele Griffin
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Adele Griffin is the acclaimed author of many books for young readers, including Tighter, a dark retelling of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. Her books Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be both are National Book Award finalists. Adele is also the author of Picture the Dead, The Julian Game, and the Witch Twins and Vampire Island middle-grade series. She lives with her husband and young daughter in Brooklyn, New York.
Jennifer R. Hubbard
Jennifer R. Hubbard lives and writes near Philadelphia, PA. She is a night person who believes that mornings were meant to be slept through, a chocolate lover, and a hiker. Her debut novel, The Secret Year, was a 2011 YALSA Quick Pick and was included on the Texas Library Association's Tayshas list of recommended young-adult books. Her short story, Confessions and Chocolate Brains, appears in the 2011 anthology Truth & Dare.
Toni De Palma
Toni De Palma's acclaimed first novel, Under the Banyan Tree, was published in 2007 to rave reviews. Under the Banyan Tree was chosen as a New Voices Pick by Kirkus Review, a Book for the Teen Age by the New York Public Library, and a New Voice's Pick by the Childrens Book Association. V.O.Y.A. also named Banyan to its Top Shelf for Middle Grade Fiction list for 2008. Jeremy Owl is Toni's second middle grade novel about an eleven-year-old science geek who gets involved in an adventure that includes a flying pig, enchanted pies, and dueling owls and fairies. Illustrated by Gregg Hinlicky, Jeremy Owl is winning young readers over. In 2009, Toni was the recipient of a New Jersey Arts Council Fellowship. She is a graduate of the Vermont College MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program, a teacher, and a frequent presenter at schools and libraries. She is also a member of the KidLit Authors Club.
Cynthia Chapman Willis
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Cynthia Chapman Willis is the author of the middle grade novels Dog Gone (published by Square Fish, a division of Macmillan), for ages 8 to 13, and Buck Fever (published by Feiwel & Friends, a division of Macmillan), for ages 9 to 14. Dog Gone was praised by Kirkus Reviews as "satisfying, appealing... a well-told story, spiced with humor and facts on animal care," and she was called "an author to watch." Booklist wrote: "Along with the emotional content comes the mystery of Dead End, with tension that continues to rise as Dill tries to determine if her dog is a killer, and, if so, how to save him." When Cynthia's second novel, Buck Fever, came out, Publishers Weekly wrote: "Willis's (Dog Gone) second novel nicely weaves a few familiar tropes into an entertaining and intense tale. The result is a satisfying novel filled with solid characters who learn the consequences of making some hard choices." Booklist wrote: "The quietness of nature and small-town life is wonderfully reflected in Willis' patient and artful prose, and every hunting detail feels authentic..."
After graduating from Lynchburg College with a degree in English, Cynthia worked as an editor of educational books and materials for children. During her time with Macmillan, Scholastic, and McGraw-Hill school publishing groups, she also wrote books, articles, as well as pupil edition and teacher edition copy. Most recently, Cynthia is writing full time while promoting Dog Gone and Buck Fever.
Keith R.A. DeCandido
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The latest addition to the Liars Club, Keith R.A. DeCandido knows who put the bop in the bop-shu-bop, knows who put the ram in the ram-a-lama-ding-dong, but is still trying to track down who wrote the Book of Love. He's written tons and tons of novels, comic books, short stories, novellas, eBooks, and nonfiction. A great deal of that work has been in a variety of media universes ranging from TV shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Farscape, Star Trek, Supernatural) to games (BattleTech, Dungeons & Dragons, StarCraft, World of Warcraft) to comic books (the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, Spider-Man, the X-Men) to movies (Cars, Resident Evil, Serenity). He was the scripter of the official "season 5" Farscape comic book, in collaboration with TV series creator Rockne S. O'Bannon. Other recent and forthcoming work includes: the Dungeons & Dragons novel Dark Sun: Under a Crimson Sun, part of the "Abyssal Plague" crossover event; the Cars graphic novel Rust Bucket Derby, based on the Pixar films; short stories in the anthologies Dragon's Lure, More Tales of Zorro, Star Trek: Seven Deadly Sins, Tales from the House Band, and Liar Liar (featuring stories by members of the Liars Club); and the novel Guilt in Innocence, part of the shared-world science fiction universe The Scattered Earth. Keith has two novel series out that are fantastic takes on police procedurals: Dragon Precinct and Unicorn Precinct take place in a high-fantasy setting (as do the forthcoming Goblin Precinct and Tales from Dragon Precinct, all published by Dark Quest Books, an exhibitor at Collingswood), and SCPD, which focuses on the cops in a city filled with superheroes (The Case of the Claw is currently available from Crossroad Press, with Avenging Amethyst due out in 2012 and Secret Identities in either '12 or '13). Keith also currently writes the twice-weekly Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch at Tor.com. Keith was inexplicably honored by the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009, which means he never needs to achieve anything ever again. He does a twice-montly podcast called Dead Kitchen Radio, contributes to The Chronic Rift pop-culture podcast, voices Todd Rage on the Parsec Award-nominated zombie apocalypse audio drama HG World, plays percussion for the parody band Boogie Knights, and is a first-degree black belt in Kenshikai karate. Keith's web site is DeCandido.net, which is a gateway to his blog, his Facebook page, his Twitter feed, and much much less...
Gregory Frost
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Gregory Frost is a writer of Adult and Young Adult fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers. His latest work is the YA - crossover duology Shadowbridge and Lord Tophet. In 2009 it was voted one of the four best fantasy novels of the year by the American Library Association, was a finalist for the James Tiptree Jr. Award. His previous novel was the adult historical thriller, Fitcher's Brides, a Best Novel finalist for both the World Fantasy and International Horror Guild Awards. His latest short fiction appears in the YA anthology The Beastly Bride edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, in the Lovecraftian anthology Chtulhu Reigns, and in the anthology Supernatural Noir, from Dark Horse Books. His first novel, LYREC, was reprinted in July - a 25th anniversary ebook edition from Book View Cafe: http://www.bookviewcafe.com/
Merry Jones
Merry Jones is the author of mysteries Summer Session, The Nanny Murders, The River Killings, The Deadly Neighbors, and The Borrowed and Blue Murders, humor including I Love Him, But... and non-fiction including Birthmothers: Women who relinquished babies for adoption tell their stories. Her work has been published in seven languages, and she has been a regular contributor to magazines including Glamour. Jones teaches writing at Temple University, is a member of MWA, The Liars Club and The Authors Guild, and lives with her family outside Philadelphia.
Solomon Jones
Solomon Jones is an Essence bestselling author whose novels include The Last Confession, Payback, Cream, Ride Or Die, The Bridge, and Pipe Dream. He also appears in the short story collection, Philadelphia Noir, and his e-book, Daddy's Home: A memoir of fatherhood and laughter, was published in June 2011. Jones is an award-winning columnist whose work has been published in Essence, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia magazine, and Philadelphia Weekly. He is a highly sought-after public speaker and the creator of the Words On The Street literacy program. Jones, a member of the writer's group, The Liars Club, lives in Philadelphia with his wife and children. His next novel, The Gravedigger's Ball, will be published in October 2011 by St. Martin's Press.
Marie Lamba
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Marie Lamba is author of the humorous young adult novel What I Meant...(Random House Books for Young Readers), which Publisher's Weekly dubbed "an impressive debut." Her newly published sequel Over My Head follows Sang Jumnal the summer before senior year as she teeters on the dangerous brink of love. Marie's essay, The View from the Outside, appears in the anthology Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering. She's also had more than 100 articles published, including features in national magazines such as Garden Design, Writer's Digest, and RWR. Marie is a member of the the Rebel Writers, and the Liars Club, and her short story What I Did... appears in the newly-published Liars Club anthology Liar, Liar. She holds a BA in English and in Literary Art (an individualized major combining writing and fine art) from the University of Pennsylvania.
Kelly Simmons
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Kelly Simmons is the author of the critically acclaimed Simon & Schuster novels Standing Still, and The Bird House. She is a former journalist and advertising creative director who divides her time between writing, teaching, public speaking, and vacuuming up dog hair. Visit her website at www.bykellysimmons.com or follow her on twitter: @kellysimmons
Kim and Danny Adlerman (aka Kin Eagle)
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Kin Eagle is really the team of Kim and Danny Adlerman. Their books include Hey, Diddle Diddle, It’s Raining, It’s Pouring, Africa Calling, and How Much Wood Could A Woodchuck Chuck? - a wonderful read-aloud or sing-along book for parents and children to share together. Oh No, Domino! features words and illustrations by Kim and a song on CD by Danny. And Listen UP! is a full length CD by Danny Adlerman and Friends.
Baze and His Silly Friends
Multi–award winning BAHSF are a super creative, super fun, and super duper talented children/family rock band. Performing across the northeast at festivals, school events and private parties, these cats hit the stage at 1000 mph and take children and adults on the ride of lives with their energetic rockin' tunes! No show is complete without tons of bubbles, laughs, hip shakin', and toe tappin' good time songs that will make even grandma get out of her rocking chair and boogie up those stairs. "This is Your Body," a key track off the Toddlerville CD, has been a featured video on HBO Family, and their songs can be heard on radio stations around the country.
Luigi Borda
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Louis "Luigi" Borda is the author of the series Andiamo! (Let’s Go!) Luigi Gets Around (One State at a Time) - designed to help teach U.S. geography. He uses his "Philly Phiat," a little red 1967 Fiat 500, "to help young readers 'travel' across the country, stopping at notable destinations along the way," he explains. Luigi is a geography teacher at Masterman, Philadelphia's celebrated academic magnet school for accomplished students.
Irene Breznak
Irene Breznak started writing stories as soon as she could print; however, she made them up long before that. "I spun tales from the moment I could speak," Irene states. "From my parent's perspective, the stories were often viewed as 'fibs'. From my perspective, I was an author in training." Irene is the third of six children. She was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and raised most of her life in central New Jersey. Irene credits her paternal grandfather for teaching her the art of storytelling and attributes her sense of humor to growing up with four brothers. Irene's background is in Education, Marketing, Copywriting and Consumer Product Development. She earned a Master of Arts in Teaching Degree from Montclair State University with an emphasis in Early Childhood Development. In her spare time, Irene likes to camp, travel, stroll the streets of Manhattan and, of course, to read. Her obsessions are learning about other cultures and collecting children's Picture Books. Irene currently resides in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania with her two teenage sons, Zach and Connor, their huge appetites and dirty laundry.
Daryl Cobb
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Daryl’s newest book, Do Pirates Go To Schools, is a fun story about a young boy who finds a pair of boots that turn out to be a little out of the ordinary.Past favorites include Bill the Bat Baby Sits Bella, Bill the Bat Finds His Way Home, and Bill the Bat Loves Halloween. Daryl lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children. Daryl's writing began in college as a Theatre Arts major at Virginia Commonwealth University. He found a freshman writing class inspiring and, combined with his love for music and the guitar, he discovered a passion for songwriting. This talent would motivate him for years to come and the rhythm he created with his music also found its way into the bedtime stories he later created for his children. The story "Boy on the Hill," about a boy who turns the clouds into animals, was his first bedtime story/song and was inspired by his son and an infatuation with the shapes of clouds. Through the years his son and daughter have inspired so much of his work, including Daniel Dinosaur and Daddy Did I Ever Say? I Love You, Love You, Every Day. Daryl spends a lot of his time these days visiting schools promoting literacy with his interactive educational assemblies "Teaching Through Creative Arts." These performance programs teach children about the writing and creative process and allow Daryl to do what he feels is most important - inspire children to read and write. He also performs at benefits and libraries with his "Music & Storytime" shows. He is a member of the SCBWI.
Leslie Connor
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Leslie Connor writes books for children of all ages. Her work spans the genres from picture books to young adult novels, from historical fiction to contemporary themes. Her award winning titles include a picture book, Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel, and young adult novels, Waiting for Normal and Crunch. Leslie says her writing days begin not at her desk, but on the hiking trails near her home. "I start to put my head into the story I'll be working on that day and the details rise while I march through the ferns. When I get home, I pour a pot of tea, sit down and begin." Leslie’s advice to writers is: write what you can't ignore! (Chances are good that others will be interested too.) Leslie lives in a little house in the big Connecticut woods with her husband and three children (who drive cars and leave home a lot) and three of the best, rescued "writing dogs" in the world. Leslie likes gardening (but ended up with too many cherry tomatoes this year), baking artisan pizzas (with cherry tomatoes on top), and creating all sorts of art from all sorts of things (including cherry tomatoes).
Michael Dooling
Children's Book Illustrator & Author Michael Dooling is the illustrator of over 50 books - many on historic subjects including Young Thomas Edison that School Library Journal said, "belongs in every library." Other books include Lewis and Clark and Me: A Dog's Tale that was nominated for thirteen awards and received the Pennsylvania Young Readers Award. This Fall look for his new book titled, 1778. His books have sold over a million copies and Michael has visited over 800 schools nationwide with his History through Picture Book program.
James Eugene
James Eugene is a native of Elizabeth, New Jersey. He considers himself to be an entrepreneur, visual artist, Web designer, writer, and teacher. After graduating from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art, he was selected to illustrate his first book. His first work was a children's book about black inventors. After he completed his first book project, he took the time to expand his artistic skills from creating oil paintings to designing comic strips. James received a fellowship from the New Jersey Council on the Arts from the governor of New Jersey. He used the funds from that grant project to create a collection of oil paintings that patrons can see on display at his many art shows. James's oil painting collection is the cornerstone of his current art collections. James went on to attend and graduate from the Atlanta College of Art, and was appointed to serve at the Children's School in Atlanta where he worked as a technology and media instructor. Currently James is working as a freelance illustrator and digital artist. As a digital artist, he has designed more than 100 Websites for audiences that include corporate businesses, churches, and community organizations. However, his versatility as an artist has helped him to branch out from traditional mediums and expand his work for different audiences. James's work can also be found on covers of music CDs, popular clothing lines, and sports memorabilia. He currently has four illustrated books in print. Those titles include I am a Sigma Gamma Rho Legacy, For Those Who Stare at the Moon, Patterns are Everywhere: An Upside Down Pattern Book, and The Rooftop Club. James lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia, and he spends his spare time organizing arts shows, writing, and designing. His current projects include illustrating a graphic novel, designing an independent apparel line, creating a line of limited edition prints, and working on his first co-authored children's book. His digital work as well as traditional art is about communication and transition. However, the ultimate goal of his work is to bring all people together.
Alison Formento
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Alison Formento's award winning picture book This Tree Counts! (Green Book Award, Kids are Readers, Too Award, Children's Book Council Go Green Pick) and This Tree, 1, 2, 3 prove that trees matter. Booklist: Teachers and parents will welcome this "going green" tale. Upcoming books include These Bees Count! (2012) and Seas Count! (2013). Alison has written for several publications including The New York Times, The Writer and Parenting. She loves visiting schools and libraries and donates a portion of her book sales to AmericanForests.org.
Dan Gutman
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Dan is the author of many children's books, including Roberto & Me (2010), My Weird School, and The Talent Show (2010). Some of his other books are The Christmas Genie, Return of the Homework Machine, Satch & Me, Casey Back at Bat, The Million Dollar Putt, and Jackie Robinson and the Big Game. When he is not writing books, Dan is very often visiting a school. He lives in Haddonfield, NJ, with his wife and children.
Amy Holder
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Amy Holder is a writer, artist,and an animal lover. She has a degree in psychology, and has experience working with children and teens in the education and social service fields. Her debut young adult novel, The Lipstick Laws, has been optioned for television. Originally from upstate New York, Amy currently resides in the Philadelphia area with her furry sidekicks (pets).
Dar Hosta
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Award winning New Jersey author/illustrator Dar Hosta is the creator of four children's picture books: I Love The Night, I Love The Alphabet, Mavis & Her Marvelous Mooncakes, and If I Were A Tree. Dar grew up in Columbia, Missouri as the daughter of an artist and enjoyed a childhood where creativity was happening all the time. Today, she lives with her husband, her two sons, and two big dogs in a little house on a sunny hillside.
Jane Kirkland
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Jane was a best-selling computer book author when, one day, she spotted a Bald Eagle soaring over the parking lot of her grocery store. That moment changed her life. Today she is the award-winning author of No Student Left Indoors: Creating a Field Guide to Your Schoolyard, as well as the award-winning series of Take a Walk books for young readers
E.B. Lewis
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E.B. Lewis has illustrated more than fifty books for children, including Nikki Grimes' Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman, the 2003 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner; Alice Schertle's Down the Road, an ALA Notable Book; Tolowa M. Mollel's My Rows and Piles of Coins, an ALA Notable Book and a Coretta Scott King Honor Book; Bat Boy and His Violin by Garvin Curtis, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, and Jacqueline Woodson's The Other Side, a 2002 Notable Book for the Language Arts.
Ann Malaspina
Ann Malaspina is the author of award-winning picture books for children. Yasmin's Hammer (Lee and Low) won the 2010 Asian Pacific American Librarian's Association's Award for Literature for a picture book. Finding Lincoln (Albert Whitman & Co., 2009) won a Paterson Prize for Books for Young People and was named a Skipping Stones Honors Book. Ann lives in Ridgewood NJ, where she is finishing her next book on the day Susan B. Anthony voted for President.
Keri Mikulski
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Keri Mikulski is the author of Head Games (Penguin/Razorbill, 2011),Stealing Bases (Penguin/Razorbill, 2011),Making Waves (Penguin/Razorbill, 2012), and Fifteen Love (Penguin/Razorbill, 2012). A three-sport athlete in high school, Keri worked as a magazine columnist, personal trainer, lifeguard, registered nurse, middle school teacher, and high school coach. Currently, she teaches college writing courses at Rowan University and Stockton College while working toward a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. Keri splits her time between the New Jersey suburbs and the shore with her husband and daughter.
Denise Dowling Mortensen
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Denise is the author of the award-winning picture book Good Night Engines, as well as Ohio Thunder, Wake Up Engines, and forthcoming books, Bug Patrol and a board flip-book version of both Good Night Engines and Wake Up Engines, all due out in Spring 2011. She is the mother of five children and, in addition to being an author, is a Montessori teacher of elementary students. Her stories are inspired by her five children and reflect her passion for lyrical verse and sensual imagery.
Kathy O'Connell
Since 1988, Kathy O'Connell has hosted Kids Corner, an interactive radio show for kids and their families. Kids Corner is heard on WXPN in Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, WXPH in Harrisburg, WKHS in Worton/Baltimore, Maryland, and online at www.xpn.org. With over 40,000 telephone calls placed to the radio show each month, Kids Corner is the most listened to public radio show for children in America, according to an Arbitron/National Public Radio study.
A pioneer in modern children's radio, Kathy O'Connell has won numerous major broadcasting awards, including two George Foster Peabody Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting and the Major Armstrong Award. Prior to joining WXPN, O'Connell hosted the award-winning Kids America, a nationally syndicated call-in program for kids (1983-1987).
Kathy O'Connell has served as an advisor on children's media and issues for the University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia International Children's Theatre Festival, the Staten Island Children's Museum, and the City of New York. Musicians, educators, healthcare professionals, and creators of media for families have sought her expertise in children's music and media. O'Connell's voice is heard narrating programs in educational environments like Philadelphia's Franklin Institute Science Museum and National Constitution Center and New York's Brooklyn Museum. She has narrated several recorded books for children.
Asked to create her autobiography in six words, O'Connell's response is: "Spent whole life watching Soupy Sales." The legendary comedian was a proud friend and mentor whose work lives on today in Kathy O'Connell and Kids Corner.
Christen S. Prete
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Christen S. Prete is a newly published children's book author of The Great Penguini, an inspirational story about a little penguin with big dreams of becoming a great magician. Christen currently lives in Poughkeepsie, NY with her husband and their three children. Since graduating from Marist College in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration for Finance, she's mostly been a stay-at-home mom, which is the most challenging, but rewarding, part of her life.
Christen has loved writing, reading, and drawing since she was a child, and has always wanted to write a children's book. She decided to write her first book, The Great Penguini, after illustrating a book for a friend. It's been exciting for her to visit schools, libraries, and cafes for book readings and signings. Christen feels that her children and their imaginations have been her greatest inspiration, and she plans to write more children's books in the future.
Chrysa Smith
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Chrysa Smith is the author of The Adventures of the Poodle Posse series, published under The Well Bred Book. With three books in the series since 2007, including a Mom's Choice Award winner and an Amazon pick on the children's book shelf, Chrysa is now working on her fourth adventure. As an independent author, Chrysa works closely with elementary school students (grades 1-4) on her YOUNG EDITORS PROJECT. She sends unedited manuscripts for new releases to children for lessons in editing, brainstorming, discussion. The program has been well received by educators, who use the project as a real-life learning experience beyond the classroom. She also does in-class author visits and writing workshops for schools in NJ and PA.
Before writing for children, Chrysa served as an editor for Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, and a communications manager/consultant for both Fortune 500 and smaller corporations. For the past two decades, Chrysa has written for both national and regional magazines, including Pool & Spa Living, Bucks County , PhillyStyle, Pennsylvania, The Cooperator, BUCKS, South Jersey, Design NJ and Low Carb Living. Now Chrysa spends many fun hours observing, writing and speaking about some of her favorite four-legged companions, and teaching juvenile fiction writing and publishing courses to both children and adults. She lives in Bucks County with her husband, son and own posse of poodles.
Two of A Kind
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Two of A Kind delights audiences of all ages with their music, good humor and audience participation. This award-winning, nationally touring, husband-wife duo specializes in interactive musical programs for children and families. David and Jenny Heitler-Klevans have been singing together since 1987. Their beautiful harmonies accompanied by David's powerful, rhythmic guitar playing and Jenny's multi-ethnic percussion instruments create magic on stage.
Nancy Viau
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Nancy Viau has worked as an elementary school teacher, a counselor in an after-school program, an instructor for reluctant readers, and a freelance writer. She now specializes in writing for children, and along with her debut novel, Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head (for kids 8-12), her stories, poems, and activities appear in: Highlights for Children, Highlights High Five, Babybug, Ladybug, and many other magazines for children and adults. Nancy resides in South Jersey.
Laurie Granieri
Laurie Granieri is an award-winning former newspaper columnist and features reporter living in Milltown, N.J. She has workshopped with Stephen Dunn, Laura Boss and BJ Ward, and she was named among the top poets in the 2010 and 2011 Poetic Asides Poem-a-Day National Poetry Challenges. Her work has appeared on National Public Radio, on the Identity Theory literary website and in the Paterson Literary Review. She completed a nonfiction writer's residency at the Vermont Studio Center in 2008, and she was published in the "This I Believe: On Fatherhood" collection of essays published in May 2011 by Wiley. Since 2009, she and Tammy Paolino have appeared all over the state as Jersey Fresh.
Rafey Habib
Rafey Habib was born in India, grew up in England and now lives in America. He received his doctorate from the University of Oxford, and is currently Professor of English at Rutgers University. He is the author of seven books, his latest being Shades of Islam: Poems for a New Century (Kube Publishing, 2010).
Charles H. Johnson
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Charles H. Johnson won the 2011 New Jersey Poets Prize for his poem "Leaving."
He received the 2010 Paterson Poetry Prize for Literary Excellence for his third
book Smoke Signals. Charles is poetry instructor the Middlesex and Monmouth counties (N.J.) arts high schools, the Middlesex County (N.J.) Youth Shelter, and a visiting poet for the Paterson (N.J.) school system. A 1998 first-place winner of the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards, he has been poetry editor for the online literary e-zine Identity Theory and poetry reviewer for the Home News Tribune in East Brunswick, N.J. A graduate of Rutgers College, he lives in Hillsborough, N.J., with his wife Laine Sutton Johnson. Laine and Charles will be performing together as Poetic Duos.
Tammy Paolino
Tammy Paolino is an award-winning poet, newspaper editor, and op-ed columnist living in Collingswood. She has studied with Saul Williams, Stephen Dunn, and Sonia Sanchez. Her poems have appeared in Paterson Literary Review, Edison Literary Review and other publications. Her poetry collection, confessions of the restless, received honorable mention in a chapbook contest judged by Billy Collins.
BJ Ward
BJ Ward's most recent book of poetry, Gravedigger's Birthday, was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize. His two earlier volumes are 17 Love Poems with No Despair and Landing in New Jersey with Soft Hands. All three volumes are published by North Atlantic Books and distributed by Random House. His poetry has been featured on National Public Radio's "The Writer's Almanac," New Jersey Network's "State of the Arts," and the web site Poetry Daily, as well as in publications such as Poetry, TriQuarterly, The Literary Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Puerto Del Sol, Mid-American Review, The Sun, and dozens of other journals. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Worcester Review, and Teaching Artist Journal, as well as on the American Library Association's main library advocacy web site (www.ilovelibraries.org) during National Library Week. He is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize for Poetry and fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the Artists/Teachers Institute. He earned the M.A. at Syracuse University where he served as University Distinguished Fellow. As a teacher, he has received the Governor's Award in Arts Education from the State of New Jersey and has been designated Distinguished Teaching Artist by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Mr. Ward was also named Teaching Artist of the Year by Playwrights' Theatre of New Jersey for his work in the New Jersey Writers Project. For three years he served as the Poetry Instructor at the New Jersey Governor's School for the Arts. He has also taught at The Controlled Burn Seminar for Younger Writers and at the Frost Place Seminar for Young Poets. He is the recipient of the NISOD Excellence Award at Warren County Community College, where he works throughout the year as an Associate Professor in the Creative Writing program.
