Presenter Bios

	Kathi Appelt has written several books for children, including Bayou Lullaby, Hushabye, Baby Blue, and Toddler Two-Step. She lives in Texas, where she was raised, and never tires of riding the range. “I grew up in Houston, Texas, the oldest of three sisters,” Kathi says. “In our house on Mayo Avenue, we had a garage with unfinished Sheetrock on the walls. We each had our own section. As soon as we could hold a crayon, we were allowed to express ourselves in any color or form.” To learn more about Kathi and her books, visit her Web site at www.kathiappelt.com.
	A. E. Cannon is an award-winning writer of fiction for children and young adults. She is also a newspaper columnist, creative writing teacher, and mother of five sons. Her first young adult novel, Cal Cameron by Day, Spider-Man by Night, won the Delacorte Press Prize for an outstanding first young adult novel. Since then, she has published ten books and a collection of her newspaper columns. Subsequent young adult novels have been named to the American Library Association’s Best Books lists, while her weekly column in the Deseret News has found a wide online readership. Ann’s novel, Charlotte’s Rose, was included on the New York City Public Library’s 2002 list of outstanding books for children. Ann’s other most-recent works, On the Go with Pirate Pete and Pirate Joe and Let the Good Times Roll with Pirate Pete and Pirate Joe, both illustrated by the talented Elwood H. Smith, are easy-readers about two zany pirate brothers. Ann’s newest novel is A Loser's Guide to Life and Love, just out this June from HarperCollins. To learn more about Ann and her work, visit her website at www.aecannon.com.
	Ann Dee Ellis is a personal essayist turned young adult novelist. Ann Dee's first successes at writing were her essays "Millie," "Sam,” "Upside Down Spiderman Kissing," and "The Spirit in a Tree,” and she teaches the art to others as a creative writing instructor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Ann Dee published her first book This Is What I Did with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in summer 2007. Her second book will be out the fall of 2008. She lives with her husband and son (Mr. Baby) in American Fork, Utah. To learn more about Ann Dee and her books, visit her Web site at www.anndeeellis.com.
	Stephen Fraser joined the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency in January 2005. He has most recently worked as executive editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books, where he edited such creative talents as Mary Engelbreit, Gail Gibbons, Michael Hague, Ann Rinaldi, Kathryn Lasky, Brent Hartinger, Stephen Mitchell, Dan Gutman, and many others. He began his career at Highlights for Children, the famous children’s magazine; he then worked at the Weekly Reader Book Club, the Trumpet Book Club, Oxford University Press, and Simon & Schuster. A graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, Steve has a master’s degree in children’s literature from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and has written children’s book reviews for The Christian Science Monitor, Five Owls, and Publishers Weekly. He represents both children’s and adult books in a wide range of genres. To learn more about the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency, visit their Web site at http://www.jdlit.com.
	Jeanette Ingold's novels and short stories for young adults run the gamut from historical to contemporary fiction and from realism to occasional fantasy. The settings range from the streets of Manhattan to the mountains of Idaho, and the subject matter from music to fighting wildfires. Among her novels are Mountain Solo, a Mark Twain Award nominee; The Window, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and IRA Young Adults’ Choice; The Big Burn, Western Writers of America Spur Award winner; and Hitch, a Christopher Award winner and Society of School Librarians International Best Book. Jeanette, who began her writing career on a daily newspaper, has just completed her seventh novel for Harcourt. She and her husband live in western Montana and have two grown children. To learn more about Jeanette and her books, visit her Web site at http://www.jeanetteingold.com.
	Claudia Mills has two other "jobs" besides writing children’s books: she’s a philosophy professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the mother of two boys. Claudia has written nearly 40 books for children, including her award-winning Dinah books and West Creek Middle School series. Her Gus and Grandpa books have also won numerous awards, including the International Reading Association/Children's Book Council Children's Choice, the Parent's Guide to Children's Media Outstanding Achievement, the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold, Chicago Public Library "Best of the Best," and the Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year. Claudia’s most recent books are Being Teddy Roosevelt, Trading Places (which received the Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year award), and Ziggy's Blue Ribbon Day. To learn more about Claudia and her work, visit her Web site at http://www.claudiamillsauthor.com.
	Martha Mihalick is the associate editor at Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. She has worked closely with many acclaimed authors and artists, including Kevin Henkes, Lynne Rae Perkins, Peter Sís, Chris Crutcher, and Naomi Shihab Nye. She works on books for children and teens of all ages, from picture books to young adult novels. She is the editor of the debut middle grade novels Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy and Tracking Daddy Down by Marybeth Kelsey, and of several picture books which will be published in 2009. She’s always looking for manuscripts with strong, genuine voices and compelling stories. Learn more about Greenwillow and HarperCollins at www.harpercollinschildrens.com.
	Janette Rallison first became serious about publishing as a young mother when she rediscovered that writing was much more fun than cleaning the house. Over the years, and countless dirty fridges later, she has published eight young adult novels (number nine came out inOctober 2007). These include Playing the Field; All’s Fair in Love, War, and High School; Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws; Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List; It’s a Mall World After All; How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-boyfriend, and most recently, Revenge of the Cheerleaders. Playing the Field was named Society of School Librarians International Best Book Award Honor Book, and both All’s Fair in Love, War, and High School and Love, Life, and the Pursuit of Free Throws were included on YALSA’s Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list. Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List was just chosen for IRA’s YA Choices List for 2007. To learn more about Jeanette and her books, visit her Web site at http://www.janetterallison.com.
	Brandon Sanderson is the author of several works of fiction. His breakout novel, Elantris, was published by Tor in 2005, and it has received universal acclaim. Currently in its third hardback printing, Elantris is forthcoming in ten different languages and he’s received excellent reviews in Publishers’ Weekly (starred review), Locus, Booklist, and the Library Journal (starred review). Brandon recently sold another four books to Tor Books, representing two new fantasy series. And in his second year of eligibility in 2007, he was once again a finalist for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Look for Elantris or Mistborn (and sequels) from Tor Books and Alcatraz Initiated from Scholastic. In addition to writing, Brandon teaches part-time at Brigham Young University. He and his wife live in Provo, Utah. To learn more about Brandon and his books, visit his Web site at http://www.brandonsanderson.com.
	Will Terry has illustrated 17 children’s books – his lifelong dream after starting his art career illustrating for magazines and advertisements. Armadilly Chili, written by Helen Ketteman, is in its second printing and has been chosen for the Texas 2x2 Reading List, the North Carolina Children’s Book Award, and the Arizona Young Readers Choice Award. Will is currently working on four books for various publishers – Albert Whitman, Simon & Schuster, and Random House. He teaches illustration part time at Utah Valley State University, and enjoys snowboarding with his three sons and a warm fire with his wife. Visit Will’s Web site at www.willterry.com.
	Rick Walton is the author of over 70 books for children. His works include picture books, riddle books, activity books, minimysteries, a collection of poetry, and educational and game software. His books have been featured on the IRA Children’s Choice list, on Reading Rainbow, and on CBS’s This Morning. Rick lives in Provo, Utah, with his wife and their five children. To learn more about Rick and his books, visit his Web site at www.rickwalton.com.
	Sally Warner worked as an artist (primarily charcoal drawings) for many years, exhibiting her work at galleries, small museums, colleges, and universities across the country before she began writing for children. Her first novel for children was Dog Years (1995). Since then, she has had more than 20 children’s books published. One of her most popular books so far is Sort of Forever (1998). Sally also writes books for younger readers, ages 7+, and the books in her current funny series for Viking are Only Emma, Not-So-Weird Emma, Super Emma, Best Friend Emma, and the upcoming Excellent Emma. Sally’s second historical YA novel, Twilight Child (2006), received a starred review from Booklist. The story takes place in 18th century Finland and Scotland and combines adventure, folklore, and even some romance. To learn more about Sally and her books, visit her Web site at http://www.sallywarner.com.
	Lisa Wheeler got serious about writing in 1995, but it took nearly four years for her to sell her first children's book. Since then she has published about 25 books, including the popular Fitch and Chips early reader series. Lisa has won numerous awards for her picture books, including the 2005 Missouri Building Blocks Award; the 2006 Great Lakes, Great Books Pre—K—1st Award’ and the 2006—07 South Carolina Picture Book Award for Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum; the Texas Bluebonnet Award for Seadogs: An Oceanic Operetta in 2006; and the Parent’s Choice Recommended Award for Mammoths on the Move in 2006. Her newest book releases include The Christmas Boot; Where, Oh Where, Is Santa Claus?, Jazz Baby, and Dino-Hockey. To learn more about Lisa and her books, visit her Web site at http://www.lisawheelerbooks.com.
	Stacy Whitman is an editor for Mirrorstone, an imprint of Wizards of the Coast in Seattle. She holds a master’s degree in children’s literature from Simmons College and has been with Mirrorstone for three years.Before that, she edited elementary school textbooks at Houghton Mifflin and interned at the Horn Book, as well as a brief stint as a bookseller. Stacy edits fantasy for children and young adults, including the YA series Hallowmere, Red Dragon Codex, and The New York Times bestseller A Practical Guide to Monsters. She loves to knit, bike, and rollerblade (though she finds the latter rather dangerous). For more information about Mirrorstone Publishing, visit their website at http://ww2.wizards.com/books/mirrorstone/AboutUs.aspx

Presenter Bios

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