| Author | Biography | Book Cover(s) |
|---|---|---|
Kathleen Vincenz | Kathleen Vincenz is a children's book author who enjoys writing about family, faith, warmth, and humor. She is the founder of Squirrels at the Door Publishing, a children's publishing outlet for middle grade novels and educational online content. She lives on a hill by a lake with her husband and woodland friends. In her other work, she is a technical writer and explains how to use software to solve engineering problems. | |
Sarah Weeks | Sarah Weeks has written and published more than 60 books and novels for young readers including the best selling novels, Pie, Save Me a Seat, and So B. It, now a feature film. Her most recent title Soof, is the companion book to her novel So B. It. In addition to writing, Sarah has served as a faculty member in the prestigious Writing Program at the New School in New York City as well as at Columbia University's Teachers College under the auspices of Lucy Calkins. Each year Sarah visits, both virtually and in-person with thousands of students in grades k-8. Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she now resides in Jeffersonville, NY. She has two grown sons, Gabriel and Nathanial and is married to Jim Fyfe, a high school history teacher and presentation coach. | |
Ann S. Epstein | Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, craft essays, and book reviews. Her awards include a Pushcart Prize nomination for creative nonfiction, the Walter Sullivan prize in fiction, and an Editors’ Choice selection by Historical Novel Review. Her stories and nonfiction work appeared in over 30 publications. In addition to writing, she has a PhD in developmental psychology and MFA in fiber art. Why “asewovenwords.com” as a domain name? Weaving and writing have much in common. The texture and pattern of cloth are like the formal structure of a story. A fabric’s colors evoke emotion, as does a narrative’s tone. Both deal in images, concrete or abstract. Weaving the many layers of a complex twill is like creating characters with complexity and depth. Facing an empty loom or a blank page, the artist conjures something from nothing and releases it to the world. | |
Jennifer Burd | Jennifer Burd has had poetry published in numerous print and online journals. She is author of a full-length book of poems, Body and Echo (2010; PlainView Press), a chapbook of original poems set to music by Laszlo Slomovits, Receiving the Shore (2016, Little Light Publications), and a book of creative nonfiction, Daily Bread: A Portrait of Homeless Men & Women of Lenawee County, Michigan (Bottom Dog Press; 2009). Her newest collection of poetry, Days’ Late Blue, is scheduled to be published by Cherry Grove Editions in July 2017. She is co-author of a children's play based on Patricia Polacco's book I Can Hear the Sun, which was produced by Wild Swan Theatre of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2015. Burd received her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington in Seattle. She currently teaches writing and literature classes at Jackson College, Jackson, Michigan, and at Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Michigan, as well as creative writing classes online through The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. | |
Michael A. Ferro | Born and bred in the Detroit area, Michael A. Ferro attended Michigan State University and received a degree in Creative Writing. Michael’s novel, TITLE 13, was published by Harvard Square Editions and chosen as a Best Book of 2018 by the Emerging Writers Network. He was named as a finalist by Glimmer Train for their New Writers Award, received the Jim Cash Creative Writing Award for Fiction, and was nominated for The Pushcart Prize. Michael is also a musician, satirist, and humorist, as well as a book reviewer and critic for numerous literary journals and an editor with the Chicago Writers Association. He is a former sportswriter and a Features Writer for CBS and CBS Detroit, and a national music and sports columnist with AXS. Michael has lived, worked, and written throughout the Midwest; he currently resides in rural Ann Arbor, Michigan. |  |
Sarah Nisbett | Sarah Nisbett is an artist, author and founder of Drawn On The Way. A former professional opera singer, she learned to draw by sketching strangers during her daily commute on the New York City subway. A totally self-taught artist, she has drawn over 5,000 strangers and turned her hobby of drawing “on the way” into a successful illustration career, Instagram account, blog and book. Sarah uses illustration to connect people to their self worth and sense of wonder and her Drawn On The Way project is dedicated to helping people find the extraordinary in the everyday and to see themselves and those around them as works of art. She is passionate about empowering people to discover and enjoy their own creativity. Her work has been shown internationally and she’s a sought after creative collaborator and live-event illustrator. “Drawn On The Way: A Guide to capturing the moment through live sketching” is her first book. Look for @drawnontheway on Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok. | |
Heidi Woodward Sheffield | Heidi Woodward Sheffield's debut book Brick by Brick received the Ezra Jack Keats Award for Illustration and was chosen by the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Her other books include Are Your Stars Like My Stars? (Sterling Publishing, written by Leslie Helakoski) and Ice Cream Face (Penguin), and Good Night, Little Man (HarperCollins, written by Daniel Bernstrom). Heidi has received numerous awards from The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and her artwork has been included in several exhibitions. Her graphic designs and illustrations for The Ann Arbor District Library have garnered awards from the American Library Association. Her vibrant collages feature unusual textures like cork, Mexican embroidery and Irish lace. On any given day, she can be seen taking photographs that inspire her stories and collages. In addition to creating children's books, Heidi enjoys speaking at conferences, libraries and schools. | |
Angela K. Berent | Angela K. Berent always wanted to write, but she couldn’t find the time. Life on a lake in Chelsea with her husband and their teenage twin sons offers plenty of pleasant distractions. Finally, she discovered that she could write it all in short lists of three. As a teacher, she finds that creating lists is a great way to help reluctant middle school students write. A Midwesterner at heart, influenced by a few good years in California, her stories and lists are endless. Her goal is to help readers capture their memories quickly and easily. There is never a shortage of writing material, only of precious writing time! Everyone has stories to write, and that is why Berent created List Your Life: A Modern-Day Memoir, Trace Your Travels: An Adventure Journal, and Notes from the Nursery: A Keepsake. |  |
Crysta K. Coburn | Crysta K. Coburn has been writing award-winning stories for most of her life. Her first short story was published at the age of sixteen after winning runner-up in a local writing contest. She earned her bachelor's degree in creative writing from Western Michigan University in 2005. She is a journalist, fiction writer, poet, playwright, editor, podcast co-host, and one-time rock lyricist. She served as editor for The Queen of Clocks and Other Steampunk Tales; Cogs, Crowns, and Carriages; and Gears, Ghouls, and Gauges (the latter two with Phoebe Darqueling). | |
Merrie Haskell | Merrie Haskell's first three books are The Princess Curse, Handbook for Dragon Slayers, and The Castle Behind Thorns. She won the Schneider Family Book Award (Middle Grades) and the DetCon1 Middle Grade Speculative Fiction award, and she was twice a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature. Two of her books have been Junior Library Guild selections. Her short fiction has appeared in Nature, Asimov's Science Fiction, and Strange Horizons. | |
| Author | Biography | Book Cover(s) |
