W Archives - Hudson Childrens Book Festival

Wulfekotte, Dana

Dana Wulfekotte is a children’s book author-illustrator and freelance animator. She is the author and illustrator of Peanut Gets Fed Up, and the illustrator of The Remember Balloons, a Schneider Family Honor Award book. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in New Jersey, and currently lives in New York with her husband and two rabbits. http://www.danawulfekotte.com

Awards

Schneider Family Honor, JLG Selection, Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Picture Book

3 Fun Facts

1. I have two pet rabbits.
2. I was born in South Korea and came to the US as a baby.
3. When I was a kid I had a pet iguana named Humphrey.

Wishingrad, Alysa

Alysa Wishingrad writes fantastical stories for young readers, tales that ask; is the truth really true? Her favorite stories are those that meld the historical with the fantastic, and that find ways to shine a light on both the things that divide and unite us all. She is the author of Between Monsters and Marvels and The Verdigris Pawn, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Alysa lives in the Hudson Valley with her family and two demanding rescue dogs and a cat-shaped dog, who are either monsters or marvels, depending on the day. www.alysawishingrad.com

Awards

Starred Review SLJ, JLG GOld Standard Selection, DogEarred Book Box

3 Fun Facts

1. I’ve played a zombie in a horror movie.
2. My dogs are from Egypt.
3. I’ve lived in a haunted house.

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.

Williams, Ismee

Ismée Williams is a pediatric cardiologist who trained and practiced at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City for 15 years. She lives in New York with her husband and three daughters as well as a dog who is commonly mistaken for a muppet. Water in May is her first novel. www.ismeewilliams.com

3 Fun Facts

1. Ismee is a pediatric cardiologist and the book is based on her experience in the field.
2. Her mother is a Cuba immigrant and she was raised by her abuelos, which also informed Mari’s familial relationships in the book
3. Her labradoodle has a larger Instagram following than she does: https://www.instagram.com/redrowandoodle

Wallmark, Laurie

Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark writes picture book biographies of women in STEM as well as fiction. Her books have earned five starred trade reviews, been chosen by Junior Library Guild, and received awards such as Outstanding Science Trade Book, Crystal Kite, Cook Prize Honor, and Parents’ Choice Gold Medal. Her titles include Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine, Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code, Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life, Code Breaker, Spy Hunter, Dino Pajama Party, and Her Eyes on the Stars. Laurie has an MFA in Writing from VCFA and is a former software engineer and computer science professor. . You can find Laurie at www.lauriewallmark.com and @lauriewallmark.

Awards
Outstanding Science Trade Book, Best STEM book, Cook Prize Honor Winner, Crystal Kite Winner, Junior Library Guild Selection, Parents’ Choice Gold Medal, Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award

3 Fun Facts

1. I was the only girl in a boys-only architectural drawing class in junior high.
2. My high school principal told me I would never take advanced math classes because I was a girl, but he was wrong.
3. I used to teach computer science to students on campus and also those in prison.

Weston, Carol

Weston, Carol

Carol Weston’s brand new novel, Speed of Life, is about Sofia, 14, who thinks her life is over when really it has just begun. Carol has been an advice columnist at Girls’ Life since 1994. Among her 16 books for kids, teens, and adults are Girltalk, which was translated into 12 languages, and seven diary novels about fifth-grade word nerd Ava Wren and fourth-grade traveler Melanie Martin. The New York Times called Ava and Pip a “love letter to language.” Carol studied literature at Yale and has an MA in Spanish from Middlebury. She lives in Manhattan. More at carolweston.com. I have written 16 books including eight novels for kids. (Ava and Pip series and Melanie Martin series. Also Girltalk, in print for 35 years…) www.carolweston.com

3 Fun Facts

1. I grew up in Armonk and my daughter was just on the Today Show because of her pancake business, Birch Benders.
2. I’m the Dear Carol advice columnist at Girls’ Life Magazine –have been since 1994!
3. I speak French and Spanish and do okay in Italian. I have zero sense of direction.

Wan, Joyce

Award-winning author-illustrator, Joyce Wan, designed her first greeting card when she was in first grade for a city-wide greeting card design contest. The design won first place and was subsequently sold through a major department store chain. Twenty years later, that design would inspire a line of greeting cards and eventually a design studio called Wanart. She has now published over 30 books for children including the best-selling You Are My Cupcake. Her books have sold a combined total of over 1 million copies worldwide. www.wanart.com

Awards
– 2019 Cybils Award Board Book Finalist (Dream Big)
– 2020 ALA Amelia Bloomer Book List (Dream Big)
– Mills-Tannenbaum Award for Children’s Literacy from Reach Out and Read of Greater New York

3 Fun Facts

1. Self-taught artist
2. Studied architecture in college
3. Favorite hours of the day to work are 12am – 3am

Walton, K.M.

Walton, K.M.

K.M. Walton is the award-winning author of Cracked, Empty, and Ultimatum. She recently adapted her debut contemporary YA novel, Cracked, into a full-length play. She edited and contributed to her music-focused YA anthology, Behind the Song. K.M. co-authored Teaching Numeracy: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking for mathematics teachers K – 8. She graduated from West Chester University and taught middle school language arts. She’s so passionate about acceptance that she gives school presentations—middle school through university level—titled: “The Power of Human Kindness.” K.M. lives in PA with her husband, two sons, and cat. Visit kmwalton.com or Instagram: @kmwalton.

3 Fun Facts

1. I recently started painting abstract art, and I’m up to 86 pieces!
2. Napoleon Dynamite is my all-time favorite movie. Gosh.
3. I recently adapted my debut novel CRACKED into a full-length play.

Wenzel, Brendan

Brendan_wenzel_Headshot_square – Brendan Wenzel

Wenzel, Brendan

Brendan Wenzel is a NY Times bestselling author and illustrator, with great affection for all things furred, feathered and scaly. When not creating books for children, he is a proud collaborator with many groups working to protect and conserve wild places and creatures. Brendan’s book They All Saw a Cat received a 2017 Caldecott honor. www.brendanwenzel.info

3 Fun Facts

1. I had a pet pig growing up.
2. Both my parents, my brother and my uncle all like to make art as well.
3. When i’m not making books I like watching wildlife.