Jennifer Donnelly is an award-winning, bestselling author who writes for middle-graders, young adults and grown-ups. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband, daughter and their two chiweenies. www.jenniferdonnelly.com
1. Halloween in my favorite holiday.
2. Vultures are my favorite birds.
3. Bats are my favorite animals.
London started his career painting murals. His big break came when he illustrated March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World (Scholastic), written by Christine King Farris, the older sister of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Since then London has illustrated numerous titles including Frederick’s Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass, an ALA Notable Children’s Book for Middle Readers. London is represented by Lori Nowicki of Painted-Words. www.londonladd.com
1. My favorite snack while working is eating various favors of M&M’s like dark chocolate, peanut, almond, peanut butter and pretzel mixed into fresh buttery popcorn. Many artistic problems were solved chewing on it.
2. I really enjoy going to the gym, especially after eating my popcorn 😉
3. I love shopping at thrift stores and used bookstores. Not many things are better than spending days going to multiple stores.
Alan Katz has written 50+ highly acclaimed books for kids, including Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs, Got Your Nose!, Really Stupid Stories for Really Smart Kids, Oops!, Zooloween, the Lieographies series, and The Funniest Joke Book Ever for Kids (plus a new animal joke book!).
Alan is also a six-time Emmy-nominated writer for TV series including The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The Tony Danza Show and Double Dare, animated shows including Taz-Mania, Pinkalicious and Goof Troop, and network specials including the Grammy Awards and the Tony Awards.
He and his journalist wife (and co-author of an upcoming book!) Rose Horowitz live in Milford, CT. Visit him at alankatzbooks.com
Utah Children’s Poetry Book Award Winner, North Carolina Children’s Book Award Winner, Colorado Children’s Picture Book of the Year Winner
1. I’ve never eaten a pickle or had a cup of tea.
2. I’ve had a ventriloquist dummy named Jerry since I was four. He’s the best!
3. I just might be the biggest New York Mets fan ever.
Lisa LaMonica is an author and illustrator in upstate New York who has received awards for her art and books including a grant from the Kaplan Fund. She was nominated for Artist of the Year in 2002 by the Columbia County Council on the Arts. Lisa currently writes for WMHT and the Times Union. www.lisalamonica.com
1. I have been to several places in the Caribbean where pirates roamed.
2. I have twice been featured on PBS/WMHT
3. I buy, fix up and sell old houses.
Kara LaReau is the author of the award-winning chapter book series The Infamous Ratsos, illustrated by Matt Myers; middle-grade trilogies The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters, illustrated by Jen Hill, and the ZomBert Chronicles, illustrated by Ryan Andrews; the chapter book series WITCHYCAKES, illustrated by Ariane Moreira; and many picture books. Kara lives in Providence, Rhode Island with her husband and daughter and their cats. www.karalareau.com
I received a Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor for my book The Infamous Ratsos, and the book has also been a winner or finalist for multiple state book awards.
1. I have a cat named Lulu who likes to sleep on my head.
2. When I’m stressed out, baking helps to calm me down.
3. My favorite color is the deep blue green of the ocean.
Writing was never Paul’s thing. In fact written on the top of his college writing paper, in bold red, was “F get a tutor”. So Paul went into science. Though his love for writing creative stories never went away and after having kids ideas for stories flooded his brain. When one of those ideas became a book his writing career was born! With books like Monster Needs A Costume, Trees Make Perfect Pets, The Book Tree and his newest tile, The Peculiar Haunted House to be released August 2024, look for Paul to keep doing what he loves, writing stories for awesome readers! www.paulczajak.com
“The Book Tree” is the Winner of Premio Canpoy-Ada
1. I’m a chemist.
2. I am currently learning how to forge metal.
3. My family owns a Newfoundland named Seamus who is 130lb!
Heidi E.Y. Stemple didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer. It wasn’t until she was 28 that she joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer is her mom, Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published 50 books.
Heidi lives and writes on an old farm in Massachusetts that she shares with wild animals and birds. Once a year she counts owls for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. heidieystemple.com
Golden Kite Honor, NSTA Best STEM, NSTA Outstanding Science, Northern Lights Book Award, Massachusetts State Book Award (and honor), Riverby Award, and more.
1. I am the daughter of author Jane Yolen
2. My 50th book will publish in January 2027
3. In my best year calling and counting owls for the Audubon XMas Bird Count I called down 67 owls (cue sixxxxx-sevvvvvvvvennnnnn!)
Jane Yolen, often called “the Hans Christian Andersen of America,” celebrated her 365th published book in 2018. She is now up to somewhere in the 430 range, with her eye on 500. Her works, which range from very young rhymed picture books to novels for adults and every genre in between. She lives in Massachusetts in the winter and Scotland in the summer. She writes every day. www.janeyolen.com
Two Nebulas, a World Fantasy Award, the Caldecott, the Golden Kite, three Mythopoeic awards, two Christopher Medals, the Jewish Book Award, the Kerlan Award, the Sophie Brodie Medal, MA Book Honors, and the Catholic Library’s Regina Medal, as well as six honorary doctorates.
1. All three of her children and two of her grands have published books.
2. In 1963, her first picture book (though not her first book) SEE THIS LITTLE LINE was published. This year, her book SEE THIS LITTLE DOT was published.
3. One of her awards set her good coat on fire.
It’s no secret how Jen Calonita knows the inside scoop on Hollywood. A former entertainment editor at a teen magazine, Jen started out her career chronicling backstage life at concerts with Justin Timberlake and interviewing Zac Efron on film sets. It was her work in the entertainment world that inspired her first series, Secrets of My Hollywood Life. The six-book series is about a teen starlet named Kaitlin Burke who grows weary of the fame game, but loves being an actress and it’s been published in nine countries.
Fans have loved getting to know spunky Gilly and the enchanted reform school she attends run by Cinderella’s formerly wicked stepmother in Flunked and the sequel, Charmed. The third book in the Fairy Tale Reform School series, Tricked, will be released March 2017. www.jencalonitaonline.com
1. If I met a genie and could wish for something fun, I’d love to be a Disney princess for the day at Disney World. My personal favorites: Anna or Belle (after all, Belle loves to read!)
2. I am now an avid runner who has completed three half marathons, but I didn’t start running till I was 40!
3. If I could live anywhere, it would be on the ocean. I love the water! I sometimes wonder if I was meant to be a mermaid.
Award-winning STEM author Nancy Castaldo has written dozens of books about our planet from the Hudson Valley. While the research and photography for her books have taken her worldwide, from the Galapagos to Russia, her new releases focus on the Hudson River — picture book WHALES IN THE CITY and middle-grade RIVERKEEPER.
Nancy loves sharing her adventures with her readers. She believes that we all have the ability to make a difference and always instills that theme in her books. She strives to inform, empower, and inspire her readers. www.nancycastaldo.com
Her books have earned many awards and accolades, including the Green Earth Book Award, two Crystal Kite awards, NSTA Best STEM Book, Eureka Silver Honors, and many Junior Library Guild Gold Selections. Nancy is also the recipient of the NYS Outdoor Education Association’s Art and Literary Award for the body of her work.
1. Nancy loves all animals – no favorites!
2. If I could only eat one thing on a desert island, it would be pizza. Of course, the toppings would vary.
3. I’ve always lived in the Hudson Valley, not far from the Hudson River.
The Hudson Children’s Book Festival is a 501c3 charity.
Hudson Children’s Book Festival, Inc., established in 2009 in the historic City of Hudson, NY, strives to create, nurture and sustain a culture of literacy in partnership with our community and schools in Hudson and the surrounding areas. The mission is to foster a love of reading by connecting children with world-class authors and illustrators at the annual free festival and special school and community events. Since 2024, Hudson Children’s Book Festival is a 501(c)3 charity. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
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