SCBWI

Society of
Children's Book Writers
and Illustrators

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Faculty

 

wwww Sarah Aronson began writing for kids and teens when someone in an exercise class dared her to try. Since then, she has earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and published books such as Beyond Lucky, The Wish List series, and the forthcoming picture book, Just Like Rube Goldberg. When Sarah is not writing or reading (or cooking or riding her bike), she is talking to readers and writers about creativity, the process of writing, and the power of play! She loves working with other writers in one of her classes at the amazing Highlights Foundation or Writers on the Net (www.writers.com). Like writing tips? Find out (way too much) at saraharonson.com.
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  Genevieve Artel is a writer, librarian, and Golden Apple award educator. She is a co-founder and former editor of Wisconsin’s SCBWI blog. She received her Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and has taught, coached, and mentored students and professionals for over a decade. As a creative, she’s passionate about integrating her affinity for the arts with her training in personality-typology. Genevieve believes in the transformative power of self-knowledge and hopes that by opening up the dialogue of individual truth as it relates to artistry and personality, creatives will find permission to embrace their unique gifts and the joy that comes from honoring them. Find her at helpinguniqueminds.com.
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  Katrina Damkoehler is currently a Senior Designer at Random House Children’s Publishing, where she designs and art directs approximately 35 middle grade and picture book titles per year. She was previously Art Director at Amazon Children’s Publishing. Recent projects she art directed include the 2015 Geisel Award-winner You Are Not Small (Anna Kang/Christopher Weyant), Grover Cleveland, Again (Ken Burns/Gerald Kelley), and Goodnight Numbers (Danica McKellar).
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  Lori Degman writes in rhyme, most of the time – but not always. She is the award winning author of 1 Zany Zoo, illustrated by Colin Jack (Simon & Schuster, 2010); Cock-a-Doodle Oops!, illustrated by Deborah Zemke (Creston Books, 2014); Norbert’s Big Dream, illustrated by Marco Bucci (Sleeping Bear Press, 2016); and the forthcoming Just Read, illustrated by Victoria Krylov, (Sterling Publishing, 2019). Lori was a teacher of the deaf and now writes full-time. She lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband, two dogs, and her two grown sons (when they come home to visit). You can learn more about Lori at Loridegman.com.
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  JoAnn Early Macken is the author of five picture books, including Baby Says “Moo!”, Waiting Out the Storm, and Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move, and is eagerly awaiting her sixth. She also wrote the poetry instruction guide Write a Poem Step by Step and more than 135 educational books for young readers. Her poems appear in numerous children’s magazines and anthologies. JoAnn earned her M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She speaks about poetry and writing at schools, libraries, and conferences. Visit her web site at joannmacken.com.
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  Tara Gilboy holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, where she specialized in writing for children and young adults. She teaches creative writing for San Diego Community College District and has worked as a mentor for the PEN Writers in Prisons Program. Her debut middle grade novel, UNWRITTEN, releases October 16, 2018. Find out more about Tara at taragilboy.com.
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  Joanna Hinsey grew up in Green Bay where she walked home from school with her head in a book, filled notebooks with stories in junior high, then went to UW Madison for accounting and psychology only to open a dog daycare. If she could do it all over again, she’d definitely go the English major/MFA route. Instead, she taught herself by doing it, via writing and editing and conferences. She also spent a year interning for a publishing company, which helped her figure the mechanics of plot, and co-organized the first Agent Day webinar for the Wisconsin SCBWI. She writes adult novels and freelance edits under the pen name J. Mercer, and can be found online at joannahinsey.com or jmercerbooks.com.
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  Michelle Houts lives on a farm in Ohio, where she writes from a restored one-room schoolhouse. She is the author of LUCY’S LAB, a STEM-based chapter book series and THE BEEF PRINCESS OF PRACTICAL COUNTY, which won the IRA Children’s Book Award. Her middle-grade novel WINTERFROST was a Bank Street College Best Book with Outstanding Merit. She has written the biographies of a woman who played baseball, an Appalachian Trail legend, a midcentury modern artist, and an owl. As a former speech-language pathologist, Michelle loves exploring how language can be used in storytelling. She’s a blogger for The Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors and also one of their STEM Tuesday contributors. Michelle. Find her at michellehouts.com.
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  Jane Kelley grew up by the woods in Mequon, Wisconsin, a perfect place for her imagination to roam. After graduating from Northwestern University, she performed street theater throughout the Midwest. She moved to Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, and was inspired by their daughter to write for kids. In 2010, she published her first middle grade novel, Nature Girl. She was the 2013 Thurber House Children’s Writer in Residence. She has written many more novels, including The Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya, which was honored by the CCBC in 2014. Her most recent work is the chapter book series, The Escapades of Clint McCool. For more information: janekelleybooks.com.
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  E. M. Kokie’s most recent novel, Radical (Candlewick Press, 2016), explores what it really means to survive through the eyes of a teen lesbian active in the survivalist movement. Her first novel, Personal Effects (Candlewick Press, 2012), was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults and Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and a 2013 IRA Young Adult Honor Book. She also contributed to the anthologies Things I’ll Never Say: Stories About Our Secret Selves (Candlewick Press, 2015) and Violent Ends (Simon Pulse, 2015). A lawyer by training, Emily lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her wife and pet Wookie. Emily can be found online at emkokie.com.
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  Michael Leannah is a former elementary school teacher and a writer of fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. He is the creator of We Think with Ink, a series of instructional books for writing teachers. His picture book Most People, published in 2017 by Tilbury House, won the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award in the Peacemaking category. Another picture book, Goodnight Whispers (Familius), is being published in the summer of 2018. Mike lives in Sheboygan. You can find him on Twitter @MikeLeannah. Please visit michaelleannah.com.
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  Emma Ledbetter is senior editor at Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. Emma is proud to have edited lots of stellar books for kids, including Super Manny Stands Up! by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin; Quicksand Pond, an ALA Notable middle grade novel by Janet Taylor Lisle; and Ida, Always by Caron Levis, illustrated by Charles Santoso, which The New York Times called “an example of children’s books at their best.” She looks for captivating voices, enchanting artwork, humor, and charm in a range of formats—particularly picture books, chapter books, and middle grade novels. She is especially fond of Edward Gorey, Clementine, and Frances the Badger. Find her (and her Frances-related Twitter handle) online @brdnjamforemma.
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  Carmela Martino began her award-winning middle-grade novel, Rosa, Sola (Candlewick Press), while working on her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College. Her second novel, the young-adult romance Playing by Heart (Vinspire Publishing), was inspired by two amazing 18th-century sisters who were far ahead of their time, one a composer and the other a mathematician. Carmela’s credits also include short stories and poems in magazines and anthologies and numerous articles. She has taught writing classes at the College of DuPage since 1998, and she blogs about teaching and writing at TeachingAuthors.com. Carmela lives in a Chicago suburb with her semi-retired husband, who still interrupts her writing at the worst possible times. For more, see carmelamartino.com.
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  Tim McCanna is the author of BITTY BOT, BARNYARD BOOGIE, TEENY TINY TRUCKS, and WATERSONG, which was a 2017 New York Public Library Best Book for Kids and National Council of Teachers of English Notable Poetry Book. His 2018 picture books include JACK B. NINJA (Scholastic/Orchard Books), BITTY BOT’S BIG BEACH GETAWAY and BOING! (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books), and SO MANY SOUNDS (Abrams Appleseed). Tim served eight years as Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI’s San Francisco/South chapter, and he holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing for Musical Theatre from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He lives in San Jose with his wife and two kids. Find Tim online at timmccanna.com.
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  Sean McCarthy founded his own full-service literary agency in 2013. He began his publishing career as an editorial intern at Overlook Press and then worked at the Sheldon Fogelman Agency as the submissions coordinator and permissions manager before becoming a full-time literary agent. He works on children’s books for all ages, and is actively looking to build his client list. His clients include New York Times Bestseller Zachariah OHora, Jamie A. Swenson, Hyewon Yum, Mark Fearing, Dana Wulfekotte, Andrea Offermann, Kurt Cyrus, and Judith Robbins Rose, among others. Sean graduated from Macalester College with a degree in English-Creative Writing, and is grateful that he no longer has to spend his winters in Minnesota.
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  Meg Medina is the author of numerous prize-winning works for children and teens, such as Mango, Abuela and Me, Tía Isa Wants a Car, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass and Burn Baby Burn, which was long listed for the 2016 National Book Award and was a finalist for both the Kirkus Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. Burn Baby Burn was also named the 2016 “Young Adult Book of the Year” by the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA). Her most recent novel is Merci Suárez Changes Gears (Candlewick Press, Sept 2018.) She is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books, a faculty member of Hamline University in its MFA program for children’s writing, and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. When she is not writing, she works on community projects that promote diversity in children’s literature, especially those with a focus on Latino youth and girls. Meg lives with her family in Richmond, Virginia. Learn more at megmedina.com.
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  Deb Monthei Manske is the author of In the Lucky Spaces–a Nurse’s Memoir. It contains stories from her nursing career; and is frank and funny, sad and poignant by turns, encouraging us all to live in our lucky spaces, wherever they may be. She also has a number of poems published by the Wisconsin Federation of Poets, Bramble Literary Magazine, and writes children’s poems and stories. Find her at debramontheimanske.wordpress.com or at dmontheimanske@hotmail.com.
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  Baptiste Paul is a Caribbean-born author of two books for children. His debut picture book, The Field, received starred reviews from Kirkus, The Horn Book, and Booklist. According to Kirkus, his co-authored book Adventures To School, will “will pique readers’ curiosity” and that U.S. readers “will marvel at what kids around the world will do to get an education.” His forthcoming picture book biography, I Am Farmer, chronicles the work of Cameroonian environmentalist Tantoh Nforba (2019, Lerner/Millbrook). Born and raised on the island of Saint Lucia, Baptiste is a native Creole/Patois speaker who enjoys reading his books and sharing about his experiences with anyone who will listen. Learn more about Baptiste at baptistepaul.net.
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  Deanna Singh is the daughter of a Sikh American man and African American woman. Her husband is African American and German American. Their two children reflect all of those beautiful heritages. Instilling pride in their color, in a country that is filled with negative images and messages about their brown skin, is the primary motivation for writing children’s books, I Am a Boy of Color and I Am a Girl of Color, featuring children of color. Singh earned her BA in Urban Studies from Fordham University, a JD from Georgetown University, and a MBA from the UW-Madison. She is committed in her personal and professional life to the pursuit of social justice, these books are an extension of that commitment. Learn more at storytotellbooks.com.
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  Jeffrey J. Verkuilen is the President and Owner of Verkuilen & Associates CPAs, Inc. in Green Bay, WI. He his a member of the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants (WICPA) and National Association of Tax Professionals, and holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and St. Norbert College. Before launching his own accounting and tax firm, he worked in finance for a regional music company. He also moonlights as a musician, making him well positioned to understand both the business and creative side of small business owners like writers, artists, and freelancers. His personal interests include family and volunteer activities, exercising, reading, traveling, and attending classical and popular music performances. Learn more at wvaccounting.com.
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  Stef Wade used to write about cardboard boxes, but thinks writing children’s books is far more exciting. She is the author of A PLACE FOR PLUTO (Capstone 2018). Stef holds a BA in advertising from Marquette University and an MBA in Integrated Marketing Communication from DePaul University. She currently resides Brookfield, Wisconsin with her husband and three boys. She is represented by Christa Heschke of McIntosh & Otis. You can find Stef online at stefwade.com.
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  Phoebe Yeh is a VP/co-publisher at Crown Books for Young Readers/Random House. She worked with Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen on The Magic School Bus series and with Walter Dean Myers for twenty years. She edited MONSTER the first Printz winner and the New York Times bestselling series BIG NATE by Lincoln Peirce and THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL by Soman Chainani. For Crown, she has edited and published the LUCY & ANDY NEANDERTHAL graphic novel series by Jeffrey Brown; THE LAST GARGOYLE by Paul Durham; FLYING LESSONS AND OTHER SHORT STORIES, edited by Ellen Oh and FRESH INK, edited by Lamar Giles in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, the New York Times bestseller, DEAR MARTIN by Nic Stone and MY SO CALLED BOLLYWOOD LIFE by Nisha Sharma, both debut novelists; and WE RISE, WE RESIST, WE RAISE OUR VOICES edited by Cheryl and Wade Hudson.
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  Salina Yoon is the award-winning author and illustrator of over 160 books for children. Her most recent award was the 2018 Geisel Honor for MY KITE IS STUCK AND OTHER STORIES (A Duck Duck Porcupine! Book). As the Kohl’s Cares featured author for summer 2016, seven of her books (nearly 1 million units), and four plush animals based on her characters, were sold nationwide in Kohl’s stores that year. She is the author and illustrator of the six-book Penguin picture book series that begins with PENGUIN AND PINECONE, the creator of the picture book series featuring Bear, that includes FOUND, STORMY NIGHT, and BEAR’S BIG DAY (Bloomsbury), and the early reader series beginning with DUCK DUCK PORCUPINE (Bloomsbury). You can read more about Salina and her projects at salinayoon.com.

 

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