Fireworks & Foliage
Authors/Illustrators
Laura Renauld
Laura is the author of PORCUPINE'S PIE, available from Beaming Books on October 9, 2018. Prior to becoming a children’s writer, Laura shared her love of books with her third grade students. When she is not writing picture books about porcupines, pirates, and pickles, Laura can be found on a trail, at the library, or in the kitchen. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and their two sons.
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Stacey Corrigan
Stacey is a second grade teacher in Saginaw, MI and author of the debut picture book THE PENCIL EATER. She grew up in Elkton, MI and began writing as a columnist for a local newspaper in high school. Stacey graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Elementary Education and Saginaw Valley State University with a MA in Early Childhood Education. While completing college coursework, Stacey fell in love with picture books and have used them to teach and entertain her students for years. Stacey lives in Michigan with her husband, two sons, and an adorable beagle named Sadie.
Mindy Baker
Mindy writes character driven picture books with read-aloud potential. She likes to embed seeds of truth within the story lines of her books. Mindy resides in Indiana with her husband and three children where she is a high school Spanish teacher. She has been involved in full time ministry with her husband for twenty years. She is passionate about her faith, family, people, travel, books, and living life to the full. She can never turn down a cup of coffee, especially if it is shared with an old or new friend.
Katy Farber
Katy Farber is a writer, researcher and educator from Vermont. She has loved and defended salamanders since standing in a Pennsylvania creek at the age of ten. Salamander Sky is her first picture book. Her other book for children is a middle grade novel called The Order of the Trees, which won Green Earth Honor book award in 2015.
Rita Lorraine Hubbard
Rita Lorraine Hubbard is a former educator of 15 years. She received SCBWI's Letter of Merit (2014) for a work-in-progress, and the East Tennessee Historical Society Community History Award (2014) for her nonfiction reference, African Americans of Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes. Her first picture book, called Hammering for Freedom: The Story of William Lewis (Lee and Low), debuts in September, 2018.
Kaye Baillie
I have two levelled readers published with Cengage Learning, have short stories and poems published in various anthologies and a children's literary magazine, and in 2017 had an early reader published with Wombat Books in Australia. Message in a Sock is my debut picture book.
Annemarie Guertin
Annemarie Riley Guertin graduated with a bachelor of science degree in early childhood education from Wheelock College and a master's degree (summa cum laude) in elementary education from Fitchburg State University. Annemarie is an adjunct early childhood professor and a first grade teacher. She lives in Haverhill, Massachusetts, with her husband, Michael and their two children.
Benson Shum
Benson Shum is an author/illustrator that enjoys creating and telling stories through animation and illustration. Benson is also an Animator at the Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios, where he was a part of such films as Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia and Moana. His inspiration comes from his love of children’s book illustrations, and observation of the little things in life. Originally from Vancouver, BC, Benson now resides in Burbank, California.
Annie Cronin Romano
Annie is a children's writer specializing in picture books and middle grade novels. She has loved writing creatively since she could hold a pencil. At age six, she wrote her first poem on a 3×3 inch scrap of paper! Following the debut of BEFORE YOU SLEEP, her second picture book will be released in early 2019. Annie graduated from Boston College with a degree in English and went on to earn a master’s degree in communication disorders. She works in special education and writes for children every chance she gets. She is a wife and mom...and by default: taxi driver, cook, counselor, housekeeper, tutor, and dog-walker. Annie's favorite places are bookstores, libraries, and the ocean. She wants aspiring writers to know that she received oodles of rejection letters before signing her first book contract, so don't ever give up!
Bonnie Clark
Bonnie Clark is a 2018 debut author who loves words and coffee. When she isn't writing picture books or touring indy bookstores for her blog, you can find her heavily meditated on her yoga mat, outside running, or on a date with her husband. Bonnie loves reading aloud to her three children (or anyone's children!) and practicing her newly found hobby of hand-lettering. Bonnie lives in Canton, GA with her family and her french-bulldog Louie, that she bought with her winnings from Wheel of Fortune.
Doug Cenko
Doug Cenko lives in Chicago with his wife and daughter. He has illustrated three children’s books, including the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award winning Sleepy Solar System. His first book as an author/illustrator, My Papa Is a Princess, is set to be released September 4, 2018.
Raven Howell
Raven is the author and poet of several children’s books, and most recently authored Shimmer, Songs of Night (Spork), and A Star Full of Sky (Daffydowndilly Press) which won the Royal Dragonfly and Pinnacle award for Best Children’s Poetry book. She writes poetry for a variety of magazines such as Highlights for Children, Ladybug, Bumples, Stinkwaves, Fun for Kidz, Cricket, Spider, Buds, Babybug, Hello Highlights, and High Five. Her work is included in anthologies, DVD’s and CD’s. Raven has received awards for poetry from the SCBWI and Poetry Soup, and enjoys presenting children’s writing workshops in libraries and to classrooms. She lives in New York, writing children’s poetry and stories full time, and loves spending time with her college bound sons when she can. Warm, slightly dough-y butterscotch or chocolate chip cookies are at the top of her favorite’s list! Her favorite season is the summer, and where she’s happiest is at the seashore. My Community is her upcoming rhyming picture book release with illustrator Yeng Yang.
Julie Gonzalez
Julie is a teacher-mommy-writer living in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, where bears and other wild animals provide constant inspiration for her stories. Her debut picture book, How Could a Bear Sleep Here?, will be released September 25, 2018.
Joan Sloane
Joan Sloane was born in Montreal and grew up on Long Island, New York. She has always loved animals and brought home everything she found, including a one-eyed seagull. Joan attended college in upstate New York, majoring in creative writing, art, and theater. She once worked at a theme park playing a magician’s assistant and an escaped gorilla. She has two amazing granddaughters and currently resides in Florida.
Katy Chow
Katy Chow discovered her love for children's picture books after she wrote her first speculative fiction trilogy. And she's been hooked ever since. She writes diverse picture books and enjoys every moment of it. She lives with her family in Kathmandu.
Josie Montano
Josie can’t dance, but she can boogie...and write! She grew up in a country town where the drizzly weather made her imagination sparkle on paper. From age nine she shelved her homemade books in the school library and received her first rejection letter from Golden Books at thirteen. Decades later, Josie now has over twenty published fiction books on those shelves.
Kellie Byrnes
Kellie Byrnes is a children's author, freelance writer, blogger and reviewer. Her first picture book, CLOUD CONDUCTOR, releases in 2018, and her second picture book, YES! NO comes out in 2019. Kellie was chosen as a mentee in the 2018 Writing with the Star picture book mentorship program. She is a member of SCBWI, 12x12 and multiple critique groups, and has experience working in the publishing industry and in bookshops. She also reviews and blogs about books monthly.
