Author Archives - Page 8 of 25 - Hudson Childrens Book Festival

Freedman, Deborah

Deborah Freedman was an architect once, but now prefers building worlds in picturebooks. She is the author and illustrator of, most recently, Shy, This House, Once, and CARL and the Meaning of Life. Her books have been translated into seven different languages, adopted in classrooms across the country, and honored with many starred reviews and awards. She lives in a colorful house in Connecticut, where she is always busy at work on her next books. Learn more about Deborah at www.deborahfreedman.net, and please stop by at the festival, and say hello!

Multiple starred reviews, state award nominations, “best of the year” lists —Kirkus, Bookpage, Booklist, Bank Street, Huffington Post, NY & Chicago Public Libraries, and others.

Other awards include:
Crystal Kite Awards
Parents’ Choice Award
Nerdy Book Club Awards
Amazon Books of the Month
Society of Illustrators’ Original Art
Indie Next List
Junior Library Guild

3 Fun Facts

1. I used to be an architect.
2. I have books in every room of my house.
3. I love to plant things and watch them grow, with the aid, of course, of hard-working earthworms!

Rissi, Anica Mrose

Anica Mrose Rissi is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for kids and teens, including picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA. Her essays have been published by The Writer and the New York Times, and she plays fiddle in and writes lyrics for the band Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves. Anica grew up in Maine and spent many years in New York City, where she worked as an executive editor in children’s book publishing. She currently lives in central New Jersey with her very good dog, Sweet Potato. Learn more at anicarissi.com.

Awards

Honors include the Maine Literary Award, the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of the Year, Texas Library Association’s Tayshas Reading List and 2×2 Reading List, multiple foreign translations and starred reviews, and Junior Library Guild Selection.

3 Fun Facts

1. Loves writing scary stories, but gets easily spooked
2. Plays the violin in an electro-country band called Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves
3. Lives with a very good dog named Sweet Potato

Erwin, Kimberly Y.

Kimberly Y. Erwin (Author), received her MS in Education: Intercultural Communication from the University of Pennsylvania and has worked extensively in academia for well over three decades. She is an author, an entrepreneur, an international journalist and writer, a Reading Instructor & was a high school Language Arts Dept. Chair in Florida, an English college professor, and among various and numerous other titles enjoyed Director of Multicultural Student Affairs (Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY) most as that is what propelled her into researching and writing on the topic of race & ethnicity. Currently, Ms. Erwin is on the board and program chairperson of the library in the city of Hudson, NY where she resides and runs a media company that seeks to publish and promote positive works, i.e. diversity appreciation and self-awareness and love—in photography, film/video, and of course, books! www.kimberlyerwin.me

Look for her also at: https://twitter.com/kyerwinauthor

Ms. Erwin also would like to recognize the book’s, Photographer

Zoey Catlin, High School student & budding photographer, taking photos of family, friends, and just about any and every engagement she is invited to, including weddings—and loves her little sister (and one of this book’s models, Bailiegh)!

3 Fun Facts

1. I met my Italian American beau when I was 6 years old—and wrote this children’s book DUE to an engagement I had had with him. At 8, he understood better than the adults around us that the little African American girl on the steps outside of “her” neighborhood didn’t have to “Go back home!” The “older” boy sat and chatted with her making her feel like she was just where she belonged (period)
2. I gave myself a “stage” name because of course, I was going to be a famous 1) ballerina, 2) actor, and 3) Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader! In perhaps that order!
3. I’m a HUDSONIAN! (Whoo-Whoo!) I lived in over 16 cities, states, and countries altogether on both coasts & the mid-west and on 2 continents & an island in the Caribbean. Yet, I came back 2 give back! And yes, it’s MORE than worth it–seeing the eyes of young students in elementary and junior high school as well as hearing from teens who are about to graduate from high school how much I (just being Ms. Erwin) MATTER to them. It’s not usual for them to have someone to whom they can relate—just upon 1st glance! PRICELESS.

Corrigan, Caroline

Caroline Corrigan is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. She works out of her home studio in Upstate New York, where she lives with her husband, and three young children. Her favorite color is blue and her favorite museum is Musée d’Orsay. http://www.carolinecorrigan.com/

3 Fun Facts

1. The author and illustrator are friends who decided to make a book about the artists they loved one day.
2. Melanie studied women and art in college while raising her son, Julian, so this book is a culmination of those two experiences.
3. Caroline is an amazing illustrator, artist, and graphic designer whose visual signature can be seen all over upstate New York.

LaBarge, Melanie

Melanie LaBarge is a writer living in Upstate New York with her partner, Shane, and her son, Julian. She holds a BA and MA in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her favorite color is yellow and her favorite museum is MoMA. https://melanielabarge.com/books

3 Fun Facts

1. The author and illustrator are friends who decided to make a book about the artists they loved one day.
2. Melanie studied women and art in college while raising her son, Julian, so this book is a culmination of those two experiences.
3. Caroline is an amazing illustrator, artist, and graphic designer whose visual signature can be seen all over upstate New York.

Yum, Hyewon

Hyewon Yum is an author and illustrator of many picture books, including Saturday Is Swimming Day, which won a Charlotte Zolotow Honor. She has two sons who hate haircuts. She also doesn’t like haircuts, but she’s never told her kids that. She lives in Brooklyn with her roaring family. www.hyewonyum.com

3 Fun Facts

1. Doesn’t like getting a haircut
2. Was pooped by birds, TWICE!
3. Bad at grammar(her son told her)

Macris, Amy

Author Illustrator Amy Macris began her career as a kindergarten teacher more than thirty years ago. She holds a Masters degree in Early Childhood Development. She is thrilled to bring these tender and true stories to children everywhere. At age six Amy dreamed of becoming a teacher, an artist, a children’s book author and of living on a farm. She doesn’t live on a farm yet, but who knows what the future holds. amydeweerd.wixsite.com/mysite

3 Fun Facts

1. Amy has been drawing and writing stories since she was six years old.
2. Amy loves to read to small children.
3. Amy makes a huge mess when she is writing and painting!

Wiklinski, Stanley E.

Wiklinski, Stanley E.

Stanley E. Wiklinski has an MFA from the Yale University, School of Drama. Following graduation, he acted on Broadway, regional theatre and television. He is a member of the Naval Academy Class of 1958, a retired U.S. Navy Commander, and a retired New Jersey Commissioner of Maritime Pilotage. He is married, with four children, and five grandchildren, residing with his wife in New Jersey.

3 Fun Facts

1. Retired U.S. Naval Officer.
2. Graduate of Yale University School of Drama, with Henry Winkler. Former Broadway and television actor.
3. Retired N.J. Commissioner of Maritime Pilotage.

Sibson, Laura

After a career in undergraduate counseling, Laura Sibson pursued an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing in a local coffee shop, you can find her running the neighborhood streets or hiking with her dog. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband. Edie In Between, is her latest book following her debut novel, The Art of Breaking Things. www.laurasibson.com

3 Fun Facts

1. My happy place is our cabin in the Adirondacks where I can cross-country ski in the winter and kayak in the summer
2. I have a fierce and abiding love for strong coffee. And chocolate.
3. I become grouchy when I go too long without working on a story.

Gavigan, Jenna

Jenna Gavigan is the author of the middle-grade novels Lulu the Broadway Mouse, and Lulu the Broadway Mouse: The Show Must Go On. As a child, she dreamed of Broadway, and as teenager, she made her Broadway debut in Gypsy, opposite Bernadette Peters. Since then, she’s appeared in a handful of films, on a gaggle of television shows, and on stages east and west. Also a producer, Jenna won her first Tony Award in June of 2022 as member of the producing team for the Best New Musical A Strange Loop. Jenna holds a BA in creative writing from Columbia University, where she focused on fiction, television, and screenwriting. Like Lulu, Jenna loves cheese, regularly quotes musicals, and continues to dream of Broadway. Visit her online at iamjennagavigan.com or on Twitter and Instagram @Jenna_Gavigan www.iamjennagavigan.com

3 Fun Facts

1. I went to regular school during the day while performing on Broadway at night.
2. I wrote a picture-book draft of Lulu in a children’s book writing class during my final semester of college.
3. I gave birth to my first child in 2020!!