Lucile Davis

“Imagine writing about Eleanor Roosevelt in 1,500 words using the reading vocabulary of seven-and-eight-year-olds,” says Lucile Davis.

She can imagine it, because she’s done it. A biography of Eleanor Roosevelt was one of her first published works.

Since then, Ms. Davis has written many photo-illustrated biographies for Capstone Press, including Cesar Chavez and Malcolm X (1997); Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott (1998); and Charles Lindbergh and Florence Nightingale (1999).

Ms. Davis’s books for middle and high school students include two books for Children’s Press: Alabama (1999), part of the America the Beautiful Series, and The Mayo Brothers (1998).

Ms. Davis is also a playwright. Her children’s musical, Flora, has been produced in three states.

Even more . . .

Harriett Diller

Reviewers admired Harriett Diller’s first picture book, Grandaddy’s Highway (Boyds Mills Press, 1993), for its “lyricism” and “quiet, down-home charm.” Her other picture books include Big Band Sound (Boyds Mills Press, 1996), The Faraway Drawer (Boyds Mills, 1996), and The Waiting Day (Simon & Schuster, 1994).

After graduating from Davidson College with a degree in English, Ms. Diller worked at a variety of jobs before deciding to pursue a career in children’s literature.

While still a student in the Institute’s Writing for Children and Teenagers course, she began submitting short stories to publishers. She has made sales to such magazines as Jack And Jill, Turtle, Straight, Story Friends, and Highlights for Children. Several of her stories have been voted Story of the Month by the Highlights staff.

Lynda Durrant

Lynda Durrant’s novels, all published by Clarion Books, have won both accolades and awards.

Echohawk was praised in Booklist as “. . . a remarkably powerful and emotionally affecting first novel . . .” Echohawk won the Young Adult Choice for the 1996 International Readers Awards, and it was selected as one of the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age.

Ms. Durrant’s next novel, The Beaded Moccasins, the Story of Mary Campbell (1998), was named a 1998 Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies by the American Library Association. It also won the 1998 Ohioana Book Award in the Juvenile Category, and was chosen as one of the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age.

Ms. Durrant’s Turtle Clan Journey (1999) was hailed as “A gripping sequel to Echohawk,” wrote the School Library Journal. Turtle Clan Journey was a Junior Literary Guild Selection.

Kirkus Reviews described her next novel, Betsy Zane, the Rose of Fort Henry (2000), as “A real winner in every sense of the word.” The Sun, the Rain, and the Appleseed, a Novel of Johnny Appleseed’s Life (2003), won an Aesop Accolade from the American Folklore Society. Her most recent book is My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier (2006).

Lynda Durrant is a member of the Northeast Ohio Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Her short stories have appeared in both Jack And Jill and the Beehive.

Chris Eboch

A middle-grade historical adventure set in ninth-century Guatemala, The Well of Sacrifice (Clarion, 1999) is an “engrossing first novel,” according to Kirkus Reviews.

“Eboch crafts an exciting narrative with a richly textured depiction of ancient Mayan society . . . The novel shines not only for a faithful recreation of an unfamiliar, ancient world, but also for the introduction of a brave, likable and determined heroine.” The Well of Sacrifice was listed in the Seattle Public Library’s brochures “Grades 5 & 6 Books to Build On,” “Chicano/Latino Doorways to Culture and Tradition,” and “Read up a Storm.”

Ms. Eboch has published three nonfiction books for middle and high school students, Turkey (2003), Yemen (2003), and Life Among the Maya (2005), all of which were published by Lucent Books. Her work for children has also been published in AppleSeeds and Ladybug.

Chris Eboch has worked as an editor and writer for magazines such as International Musician and Beauty Fashion. More than 100 of her articles have been published in those and other magazines including Psychology Today, Women’s Sports and Fitness, and Grand Circle Traveler. Her articles on writing have appeared in Writer’s Digest and the SCBWI Bulletin.

Ms. Eboch taught fiction writing through New Mexico Tech’s Community College and has led dozens of workshops for children and adults at conferences and writing festivals.

Critique group partners rave about her editing skills, especially her ability to see both the large picture and the small details.

Trinka Enell

“An excellent young children’s book,” and “fun all the way,” is what The Book World said about Trinka Enell’s picture book, Roll Over, Rosie (Clarion, 1992).

Ms. Enell’s writing interests are not limited to picture books. She also writes poetry and nonfiction, and fiction for middle-grade and young adult readers.

Her short stories and poetry have appeared in children’s magazines including Spider, Child Life, Children’s Playmate, Jack And Jill, Children’s Digest, Turtle, Children’s Magic Window, and Highlights for Children. Highlights also published seven of her stories in their Stories from Highlights anthology series.

In addition to writing and speaking at schools, Ms. Enell’s concern about the future of libraries prompted her to become a member of her county’s library advisory board.

Jan Fields

Jan Fields’s writing for children and families has appeared in such varied magazines as Boys’ Quest, Highlights, Shining Star, Crayola Kids, Ladybug, Single-Parent Family, and Charisma-Life.

Her poem “Snowflakes” and accompanying craft for Holidays and Seasonal Celebrations were chosen for inclusion in their Best of the Best of Holidays and Seasonal Celebrations anthology. Ms. Fields also writes for online magazines such as Wee Ones, KidzOwn, BrainPlay, and Parenting Today’s Teen.

Ms. Fields taught writing to adults and children for over 10 years at a community college in North Carolina. She co-moderates an Internet mailing list for children’s writers, and she is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Her articles on writing have appeared in both print and online markets including Keystrokes, ByLine, Children’s Writer, and Children’s Book Insider.

Rusty Fischer

Rusty Fischer is the author of more than 25 books and over 100 stories, lesson plans, and poems.

His books include The Empress of Popcorn (Publish America, 2003), Christmas Eve with Dad (Weyant Press, 2003), Thursdays with Dad (Weyant Press, 2002), The 12 Tales of Christmas (Tannenbaum Press, 2001), and It’s All Up to You! (Frank Schaffer Publishing, 1998).

He is also the author of the educational series, Creative Writing Made Easy (McGraw-Hill, 1998-1999). Each book in the series contains 10 interactive stories that allow students and teachers to fill in the blanks and provide such important details as characterization, dialogue, setting, plot, and even do-it-yourself endings. Creative Writing Made Easy quickly became one of McGraw-Hill’s more popular series, spawning a new trend in interactive resource materials for grades 4 to 8.

Mr. Fischer’s work has also appeared in such periodicals as Boys’ Quest, Seventeen Magazine, Holiday & Seasonal Celebrations, The Mailbox, Bookbag, Better Homes & Gardens, and Woman’s Day.

His stories and poems have been anthologized in such best-selling collections as Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul (HCI, 2001), God Allows U-turns (Barbour Publishing, 2002), A Cup of Comfort (Adams Media Corporation, 2002), and Stories for a Teen Heart (Multnomah Press, 2001).

Even more . . .

Lizann Flatt

Both a writer and an editor, Lizann Flatt brings an extra advantage to her students.

“I look at writing with the critical eye of an editor,” she says, “and because I’m also a writer, I know how to make those editorial observations both helpful and sensitive.”

Ms. Flatt is the former editor of Chickadee magazine. During her stewardship, Chickadee won the Parents’ Choice Gold Seal Award in 1994, the Silver Seal in 1995, and 1994 Canadian Magazine of the Year.

Her writing has also won awards, including a Distinguished Achievement Award from EdPress. Ms. Flatt’s first story was published in OWL as the winning entry in a children’s short story contest. She was also named one of three winners in the 2001 Highlights for Children fiction contest.

Her writing credits include My First Nature Treasury (Owl Books, 1994; Sierra Club Books for Children, 1995), which was chosen as a starred entry in the Our Choice list by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre; and Backgammon for Kids (Somerville House, 1999: Penguin Putnam, 1999).

Sheila Wood Foard

Sheila Wood Foard’s stories, articles, essays, and poems for children and adults have sold to more than 60 publications.

Her work has appeared in TEEN, Highlights for Children, Cicada, Cricket, Spider, Ladybug, Wee Ones, Hopscotch for Girls, Nature Friend, Hob Nob, Missouri Conservationist for Kids, Albuquerque Journal, ByLine, and Country Home.

For young readers she has written magazine profiles of famous Americans, including scientist Rachel Carson, architect Mary Jane Colter, and artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Her biography of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (Chelsea House, 2003) targets teen readers.

Ms. Foard completed a middle-grade novel, Harvey Girl, while enrolled in the Institute’s course. It won awards in both the SouthWest Writers (SWW) and Heartland Writers Guild (HWG) contests.

Ms. Foard is also a graduate of the Institute’s courses, Writing for Magazines and Beyond the Basics. Five of her assignments from these courses sold to children’s magazines.

Louise Munro Foley

No matter what genre—mystery, adventure, or suspense—humor is the common thread that runs through all 29 of Louise Foley’s titles.

Ms. Foley’s credits include The Cat-nap Catastrophe (TOR, 1999); and My Substitute Teacher’s Gone Batty, The Bird-Brained Fiasco, and The Phoney Baloney Professor, all part of the middle-grade series The Vampire Cat (TOR, 1996).

She is also the author of Poison! Said the Cat, Blood! Said the Cat, and Thief! Said the Cat (Berkley, 1992); and The Mystery of the Sacred Stones (Bantam, 1988).

In addition to writing fiction for young readers, Ms. Foley served as editorial consultant on five grant-funded social work texts, including Stand Close to the Door, which won the National League of American Pen Women’s Gold Biennial award for editing.

Her articles have been published in The Writer, Writer’s Digest, Horn Book, Christian Science Monitor, and Lawyer’s Weekly. Ms. Foley is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Even more . . .

“I started this course as a person scared to death of putting an idea on paper. My instructor was able to mold my few good skills into a finished work….She has taken my desire to write and molded it into a skill I can use and be confident with forever.”

—Douglas E. Oliver, Overland Park, KS

Leila Foster

Author of 15 published children’s books and many more professional books and articles, Leila Foster has written country studies, biographies, novels, and issue books for children of various age levels.

Most of her books have been published by Children’s Press as part of their Enchantment of the World series (beginning in 1989 and continuing to date) and Cornerstones of Freedom series (1990 and 1991).

For this same publisher, she has also written Margaret Thatcher (1990), Rachel Carson and the Environmental Movement (1990), Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1991), and Nien Cheng (1992). Her interest in archaeology sparked the idea for Sumerians (Franklin Watts, 1990). She also enjoys travel writing.

Mary Virginia Fox

Mary Virginia Fox has published more than 40 young adult books ranging from science and history to biographies and portraits of nations.

She has written about Somalia, New Guinea, and other countries for Children’s Press. North America, South America, Australia, Costa Rica, and Columbia were released by Heinemann Library in 2001.

Her biographies of Ronald Reagan, Princess Diana, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and other personalities and historical figures have been published by Dillon Press and others. Two of her science books, Rockets and Lasers, were published by Marshall Cavendish in 1995. Her most recent books include The Importance of Douglas MacArthur and Cuba, both published by Lucent Books in 1999.

Ms. Fox’s writing credits also include stories and articles in Wee Wisdom, Playmate, Bee Hive, Teen, Jack And Jill, Humpty Dumpty, and other magazines.

Nancy Furstinger

As former managing editor at Silver Burdett Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Nancy Furstinger was responsible for an annual list of 200 children’s books.

She worked on a variety of nonfiction books for preschool children through young adults from 1990-1996, including Our World (ecology series); Alvin Josephy’s Biography Series of American Indians; Pioneers in Change (biography series); and The American Dream (business leaders series).

Ms. Furstinger has also authored several books of her own. An animal aficionado, Nancy Furstinger ascribes to the adage “Write what you know.” Her love of animals led her to write her first book, Creative Crafts for Critters (Scholastic Book Clubs, 1999).

Since then she has written Fun Stuff to Do with Your Best Friend: The Interactive Dog Book (Doral Publishing, 2000), as well as numerous titles about various breeds of dogs and cats for Checkerboard Press (2005).

Even more . . .

“I feel the advice and guidance I’m getting from my instructor is invaluable. I’m not usually a ‘prognosticator,’ but I think I’ll look back at this time next year and feel that taking this course was the smartest move I ever made.”

—Diana Denny, Indianapolis, IN

Sandra Gardner

Sandra Gardner’s young adult nonfiction book, Teenage Suicide (Simon & Schuster, 1985), “takes a giant step toward defeating suicide’s strongest allies, silence and isolation . . .” said McNaughton Book Service, and Booklist called it “A solid, responsible presentation. . . .” The second edition of Teenage Suicide was published in 1990.

Another of Ms. Gardner’s young adult books, Street Gangs in America (Franklin Watts, 1992), was judged “An excellent resource for research and for adults who work with teens,” by School Library Journal and “highly recommended” by Book Report. Street Gangs in America won a juvenile book award from the National Federation of Press Women in 1993.

Ms. Gardner’s first books for teenagers were Six Who Dared (Simon & Schuster, 1981), a high interest, low-reading level book about real-life daredevils, and Street Gangs (Franklin Watts, 1983).

Her publications for young people include numerous articles for Senior Scholastic magazine and Campus/Current, a Mary Glasgow (British) publication on social issues topics. She also edited a textbook on Southeast Asia for Scholastic.

Ms. Gardner’s journalistic background, including approximately 800 articles and newspaper columns, gave her the interviewing, researching, and writing tools she needed for her successful young adult books.

A writer and columnist for the New Jersey Weekly section of the New York Times for many years, she specialized in reporting on children and family issues. Her articles for the Times received awards from the National Federation of Press Women and Sigma Delta Chi, the professional journalism society.

Janet Graber

Janet Graber’s young adult novel, Resistance (Marshall Cavendish, 2005), was praised by School Library Journal, which described the book as having “winning characterization and a compelling plot.”

Ms. Graber’s other works have evoked praise as well. “A magical and beautifully complex narrative skillfully woven into moving yet unsentimental realistic fiction . . .” were the words used by Julia Messina, Editor of Cricket Magazine, to describe Janet Graber’s story, “Thanksgiving Gumbo.” The story received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Association of Educational Publishers/Ed Press.

Janet Graber’s credits include a nonfiction book, I Couldn’t Do It Without My Group: Secrets of Starting and Running a Successful Writers’ Group (Children’s Book Insider, 1995), and a picture book, Jacob and the Polar Bears (Moon Mountain Publishing, 2002).

She has also completed a trilogy, The Crossland Chronicles, for young adult readers that is currently under consideration by publishers. Articles by Ms. Graber have appeared in School Magazine, the Newcastle Journal, London Evening Standard, and Once Upon a Time.

Ms. Graber has participated on faculty at writing seminars, and she is a regular visitor to schools where she talks to students about her enduring passion, the process of writing. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Even more . . .

Richard Graber

“The author of Black Cow Summer, and other notable novels, surpasses himself with this story of a family in crisis,” said Publishers Weekly of Richard Graber’s Doc (Harper/Charlotte Zolotow, 1986).

Mr. Graber also wrote A Little Breathing Room and Pay Your Respects, middle-grade and young adult novels published by Harper & Row (HarperCollins).

After a career of staff writing for newspapers, magazines, and medical journals, Mr. Graber elected to turn freelance to allow time for his fiction and other writing projects. With his wife Janet, also a children’s writer, he wrote I Couldn’t Do It without My Group: Secrets of Starting and Running a Successful Writers’ Group (Children’s Book Insider, 1996).

Recently, Mr. Graber tapped his adult writing experience to write a best-selling book, How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep, published by Chronimed of Minneapolis in 1995.

Pamela D. Greenwood

“She knows kids,” said the Wilson Library Bulletin in reviewing Pamela Greenwood’s first book, “and she respects them.”

In her first two chapter books, What About My Goldfish? (Clarion, 1993) and I Found Mouse (Clarion, 1994), both Junior Literary Guild selections, Ms. Greenwood has created characters that young children find real and likeable. Her stories have also appeared in Junior Trails, Pockets, and Highlights for Children.

Ms. Greenwood also writes nonfiction with a coauthor under the pen name Ryan Ann Hunter. Holiday House published their first four books: Cross A Bridge (1998), Into The Sky (1998), Dig A Tunnel (1999), and Take Off! (2000). Dig A Tunnel was a Parenting Magazine Book of the Year for 1999.

The coauthors’ latest books are Robots Slither (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2003); Getting in the Air: A Timeline of Flight (National Geographic Society’s Children’s Books, 2003); and In Disguise: Stories of Real Women Spies (Beyond Words, 2003).

Books under Ryan Ann Hunter pen name

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Pauline Guppy

After majoring in English literature in college, Pauline Guppy earned a master’s degree in teaching. She taught composition and the appreciation of literature to grades 9-12, and correspondence courses for the U.S. Armed Forces Institute; she also worked at a university.

Then, some 20 years ago, Pauline Guppy sat down to write. She sold her first stories to My Pleasure, Five/Six, and Discovery before she began to sell to Saturday Evening Post publications including Young World, Science Fiction Stories, and Child Life.

Ms. Guppy’s most recent work has appeared in Children’s Digest, Radar, Junior Trails, and Primary Treasure. She has twice been a finalist in the annual Pacific Northwest Writers Conference competition, both in the Juvenile Books category and in Articles and Short Stories for Children.

Ms. Guppy is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the National League of American Pen Women.

“I found my instructor to be excellent. She held to a ‘teacher’ relationship as well as developing a spirit of friendship. Her comments have been valuable to me as a student. The skills I developed through her mentoring and this course have allowed me to begin making sales.”

—Jacky Jeter, Fountain, MI

Geraldine Gutfreund

When she was a newlywed in a small town, Geraldine Gutfreund found scant employment, so she took to reading, which rekindled her childhood interest in writing. She’s been writing ever since.

Her credits include 5 books, 23 stories and articles, and more than 20 poems in Cricket, Hopscotch, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, St. Anthony’s Messenger, Children’s Writer, and a wide variety of other publications.

Ms. Gutfreund typically draws from her scientific knowledge of animals and their habitats and her interest in nature and the environment to develop her material. She also uses folklore.

Her books, Animals Have Cousins, Too (Franklin Watts, 1990), Nature’s Unlovables (Publications International, 1990), and Vanishing Animal Neighbors (Franklin Watts, 1993), are entertaining yet scientifically based on zoology and aimed at the middle grades.