Monday, July 13, 2015

Alison McGhee



Alison McGhee writes for all ages in all forms, especially poems and novels - the tiny and the huge. She's the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller "Someday" and the Pulitzer-nominated novel "Shadow Baby." Alison is a nomad who lives in Minneapolis, Vermont and southern California, but not all at the same time. She most loves travel, books, sewing, gardening, cooking, running, and her family and friends and animals.

Learn more about Alison on her website.





Sunday, July 12, 2015

Robin Newman



Raised in New York and Paris, Robin Newman’s been a practicing attorney and legal editor, but she prefers to write about witches, mice, pigs, and peacocks. She lives in New York with her husband, son, goldfish, and English cocker spaniel, who happens to have been born on the Fourth of July. 

The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake, illustrated by Deborah Zemke (Creston Books 2015), is an early chapter book about two hardboiled mouse detectives named Wilcox and Griswold. They are MFIs, Missing Food Investigators, and in their seminal case they’re on the hunt for Miss Rabbit’s missing carrot cake. (Please note the names of the animals have been changed to protect the good guys.) 

The Case of the Missing Carrot Cake book trailer:  




Learn more about Robin and her other publications at: 

Twitter: @robinnewmanbook

Friday, July 10, 2015

Vincent X. Kirsch

Vincent X. Kirsch is an author, illustrator and designer living in Los Angeles. He has lived in Florence (Italy), New York City and Boston. His illustrations are created in a two-dimensional adaptation of this paper cut toy theaters that he has been building for most of his life. His work is very influenced by theater, puppetry, poster art, classical painting techniques and Hollywood films. His whimsical character designs and storylines range from the fantastically out-of-this-world to inspiringly down-to-earth.

The black and white, as well as color work, appeared regularly on the pages of The New York Times Book Review & Op-Ed pages, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and a wide array of magazines.

Coincidentally, the work on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times landed Mr. Kirsch a three-year job designing and directing the windows of Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue. His work with mannequins and small window spaces lead to the creation of three-dimensional characters and revived a fascination with puppetry and Victorian toy theaters.

An editor at BloomsburyUSA discovered one of Mr. Kirsch’s illustration style in The New York Times Book Review and thought it a perfect match for children’s books. A small doodle she noticed in his sketchbook of two zany sisters inspired him to create “the greatest department store in the world” for his first book.






Thursday, July 9, 2015

Jandy Nelson




Jandy Nelson, like many of her characters, comes from a superstitious lot and was tutored from a young age in the art of the four-leaf clover hunt; She knocks wood, throws salt and carries charms in all her pocket. Her critically-acclaimed, New York Times bestselling second novel, I'll Give You the Sun, received the 2015 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, Bank Street's Josette Frank Award, and a Stonewall Honor Book Award. Both Sun and her debut, The Sky Is Everywhere, have been YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults picks and on multiple best of the year lists including the New York Times, Time Magazine, NPR, have earned many starred reviews, and continue to enjoy great international success, collectively published in over 47 countries. I'll Give You the Sun has been sold to Warner Brothers and screenwriter Natalie Krinsky is currently writing the adaptation. Jandy, a literary agent for many years, received a BA from Cornell University and MFAs in Poetry and Children's Writing from Brown University and Vermont College of Fine Arts. Currently a full-time writer, she lives and writes in San Francisco, California--not far from the settings of her novels.