She Made History Books

Hi! I’m Laura Gehl. I spent many happy hours reading books as a kid, and now I get to spend many happy hours…and many frustrated, banging-my-head-against-the-wall hours…writing books for kids. Pretty much the best job ever. Except for the banging-my-head-against-the-wall part. These days, I also get to spend many happy hours reading books to my own four kids. Which is only fair, since I get most of my ideas from them! (Bio via lauragehl.com)

Caroline Starr Rose is an award-winning middle grade and picture book author whose books have been ALA-ALSC Notable, Junior Library Guild, ABA New Voices, Kids’ Indie Next, Amazon’s Best Books of the Month for Kids, and Bank Street College of Education Best Books selections. In addition, her books have been nominated for almost two dozen state award lists. She lives with her husband and two sons in New Mexico.

Rose Viña is a Cuban-American writer originally from California. She is an MFA graduate from Lesley University with a focus in Writing for Young People. Rose was a competitive figure skater for more than 20 years and skated with Disney On Ice and Holiday On Ice. Currently, Rose is the head figure skating coach in Sweden.

Nancy Churnin is the award-winning author of eight picture book biographies: The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game; Manjhi Moves a Mountain; Charlie Takes His Shot: How Charlie Sifford Broke the Color Barrier in Golf; Irving Berlin, the Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing; The Queen and the First Christmas Tree: Queen Charlotte’s Gift to England; For Spacious Skies: Katharine Lee Bates and ‘America the Beautiful’ and Beautiful Shades of Brown, How Laura Wheeler Waring Painted Her World. Collectively her books have won a Sydney Taylor Notable, the South Asia Book Award, two Notable Social Studies Books for Young Readers, the Silver Eureka, the ILA-CBC Children’s Choices list, Junior Library Guild and more. A former theater critic for The Dallas Morning News, Nancy is a graduate of Harvard University, with a master’s from Columbia University School of Journalism. She lives in North Texas with her husband and a dog named Dog.

JODIE PARACHINI is an American author and editor currently living in London. She is the author of multiple books for children, including This is a Serious Book and The Perfect Job for an Elephant.

Louise Pigott creates vibrant, detailed, and atmospheric illustrations for children’s books and greeting cards that have appeared around the world. She lives in England.

Alexandra Bye graduated from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. She lives in New Hampshire, where she enjoys mountain biking, Nordic ski racing and hiking in the White Mountains with her dogs.

I’m a Character Designer and Illustrator based in Atlanta, GA. From making fun, whimsical characters to exploring the richness of culture through illustration; creating art and telling stories is what I thrive on. Character design clients include Cartoon Network, HBO, Univision, and Comedy Central as well as advertising illustration. For publishing work I am represented by Astound US Agency. I’ve had the privilege to illustrate children’s books for Macmillan, Oxford University Press, Quarto, Capstone and Albert Whitman. For inquiries on illustration for books please contact: emily@astound.us

Olga Baumert is an artist, illustrator, and graphic designer. Originally from Poland, she studied fine art and jewelry-making before moving to the UK, where she received her degree in Graphic Design and Illustration at De Montfort University. She lives in England.

Junyi Wu is a freelance illustrator and designer and a graduate of ArtCenter College of Design. Her passions include pies, puns, and puzzles. She is based in Orange County, California.