Founders Workshop Faculty

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	SANDY ASHER Variety and quality characterize Sandy Asher's work, which includes twenty-one books, three anthologies, more than three dozen plays, and over two hundred articles, stories, and poems published in magazines. Her most recent picture book, Too Many Frogs!, will be released in spring 2005. She's also the editor of three collections of fiction, including With All My Heart, With All My Mind: Thirteen Stories About Growing Up Jewish, winner of the 1999 National Jewish Book Award in children's literature, and On Her Way: Stories and Poems About Growing Up Girl, a Junior Library Guild selection. She is currently at work on an anthology for boys, to be released in 2006. Her best-known play, A Woman Called Truth, has been produced by more than 250 school, community, and professional groups in the United States and Canada. Sandy has been honored with the American Alliance for Theatre and Education's Charlotte Chorpenning Award for a distinguished body of work in theater for young audiences. Workshop: Writing Your First Novel back to top
	MARK BALDWIN Principal author of the Natural History Atlas to the Chautauqua-Allegheny Region, Mark has devoted the past fourteen years to the development of nature education programs for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. As director of education, Mark works with teachers throughout the country to infuse nature studies into their curricula. He is president of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy and vice president of the American Nature Study Society. Workshop: Writing from Nature: Blazing a Trail from Field Journal to Publication back to top
	SUSAN CAMPBELL BARTOLETTI Susan is the award-winning author of thirteen books for children, including such picture books as Nobody’s Diggier than a Dog (Hyperion 2005), such novels as A Coal Miner’s Bride (Dear America/Scholastic 2000), and such nonfiction books as Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine (Houghton Mifflin 2001) and Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow (Scholastic Nonfiction 2005). Learn more about Susan at www.scbartoletti.com. Workshop: Writing to a New Level: A Working Writer’s Workshop for all Muses, the Published and the Aspiring-to-Be-Published back to top
	ANDY BOYLES A lifelong interest in science led Andy to his position as science editor at Highlights for Children ten years ago. From dinosaur fossils and rain forests of Madagascar to environments closer to home, Andy’s encounters with the natural world and those who study it are recorded in countless interviews and articles. A member of the National Association of Science Writers, he has received numerous writing and editing awards. Workshop: Writing from Nature: Blazing a Trail from Field Journal to Publication back to top
	KENT L. BROWN JR. Kent is the Editor in Chief of Highlights for Children magazine and has been publisher of Boyds Mills Press since its introduction in 1990. A past-president of the Educational Press Association of America, Kent has served on the publications committee of the International Reading Association and is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Society of Magazine Editors, and the National Press Club. Kent was recently appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, a national, non-profit nature education organization located in Jamestown, NY. Workshop: The ABC's of School and Library Visits (previously Life in the Spotlight) back to top
	CAROLYN COMAN Carolyn is the author of Body and Soul: Ten American Women, Losing Things at Mr. Mudd’s, Tell Me Everything, What Jamie Saw, Bee and Jacky, and Many Stones. What Jamie Saw received a 1996 Newbery Honor Award from the American Library Association and was also named a 1996 National Book Award Finalist. Many Stones received a 2001 Printz Honor Award and was also a 2000 National Book Award Finalist. Carolyn graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she studied writing. She has worked as a bookbinder, as an editor for Heinemann (an educational publisher), and as a writing instructor at Harvard Extension and Harvard Summer School. She is currently on the faculty of Vermont College, in its MFA Writing for Children Program. Workshop: Seeing into Your Story Back to Top
	BOBBIE COMBS Bobbie Combs is a freelance children’s book specialist and one of the owners of Two Lives Publishing, a small niche publisher of children’s books. She has spent her entire adult career in the world of children’s books. Some of the jobs she has held include manager of a children’s independent bookstore; children’s buyer and children’s sales/marketing director of a book distributor; publicity assistant; freelance children’s book reviewer; Webmaster for several industry sites; author; editor; and publisher. Nearly all of these jobs have required a special focus on public relations and marketing: working with independent bookstores, chains, and wholesalers to increase their awareness of authors; developing relationships with media (local, national, and niche); ensuring that books reach the right reviewers; developing tailored mailing lists and utilizing the Internet, author Web sites, and e-mail to gain maximum exposure. Workshop: The ABC's of School and Library Visits (previously Life in the Spotlight) back to top
	JOY COWLEY Joy's love for children's literature is "a commitment that borders on obsession." From her ranch on New Zealand's Marlborough Sound, she endeavors to bring "three gifts for the child: achievement, affirmation, and literature" in her early-reading stories. In 1990, New Zealand awarded its Commemorative Medal to Joy for her service to Children's Literature. In 1992, she received the Order of the British Empire, which acknowledges her distinguished service to the arts and sciences. Joy's novels and picture books regularly receive top honors. Countless children know her classic Mrs. Wishy-Washy. Among her most recent titles are The Rusty, Trusty Tractor; Big Moon Tortilla; Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses; Red-Eyed Tree Frog; Starbright and the Dream Eater; Mrs. Goodstory; and Where Horses Run Free. Her book The Silent One received the New Zealand Children's Book of the Year award and has been made into a film shown on the Disney Channel. Workshop: Writing from the Heart back to top
	REBECCA KAI DOTLICH Rebecca Kai Dotlich is an award-winning poet who has published numerous children's poetry and picture books, including Over in the Pink House: New Jump Rope Rhymes; Lemonade Sun: And Other Summer Poems; Sweet Dreams of the Wild: Poems for Bedtime; Mama Loves; What Is Round?; and Away We Go! A frequent speaker at IRA and NCTE national and local conferences, she has been a poetry advisor for Creative Classroom magazine, and is a former writer-in-residence in the Dekalb County School District in northern Indiana. She has taught poetry at the Buffalo Writing Conference and the Kentucky Bluegrass Writing Project. Rebecca's poetry has been featured on Reading Rainbow. Workshop: Wordplay: Writing Poetry for Children back to top
	TRACY GATES Tracy Gates has worked in the editorial departments of Philomel, Crown, and Alfred A. Knopf before joining Viking Children's Books as an executive editor. She edits picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, and young-adult fiction, and works with well-established authors, including Rich Wallace, Sally Warner, David Adler, and Elisa Carbone, and newer ones including Ron Woods and Jarrett Krosoczka. Recent books include The Hero by Ron Woods, Girl Coming in for a Landing by April Halprin Wayland, and a new novel by Rich Wallace. Spring Workshop: Writing Novels for Young Adults back to top
	JAMES CROSS GIBLIN As both an author and editor, Jim has long been active in the world of children’s books. His award-winning nonfiction titles include The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin, The Mystery of the Mammoth Bones, and the latest, The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler. Jim is also a contributing editor at Clarion Books, where he was formerly editor in chief, and is the author of a highly regarded manual for adults, Writing Books for Young People. Workshop: Real People, Great Stories: The Art of Writing Biography back to top
	KIM T. GRISWELL Kim is the coordinating editor of Highlights for Children. Her service has spanned the worlds of publishing and teaching, leading her to positions as senior editor, book development manager, a university instructor, and a teacher with the Institute of Children’s Literature. She holds master’s degrees in teaching writing and in literature. A prolific writer and committed editor, Kim has published more than two hundred short stories, articles, and columns. Her children’s book, Carnivorous Plants, was recently published by Kidhaven Press. Workshop: The Hero's Journey—Bringing the Power of Mythic Structure to Your Writing back to top
	JUANITA HAVILL Juanita Havill is the author of sixteen children's books, including Jamaica's Find, a Reading Rainbow Review Book, IRA-CBC Children's Choice, and Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award Winner; Jamaica Tag-Along, an American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists"; and Sato and the Elephants, an ALA Notable in the Field of Social Studies, which has been translated into five South African languages. She is also the editor of Booklove: Creating Good Books for Children in an Age that Values Neither. Workshop: Picture Books A - Z back to top
	DIANNE HESS Dianne Hess is executive editor of Scholastic Press. She edits fiction and nonfiction picture books, as well as some chapter books, middle-grade fiction and nonfiction, and YA fiction. Dianne has edited numerous books, including The Three Questions by Jon J. Muth (forty weeks on the Book Sense Bestseller List); Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Jon J. Muth (Society of Illustrators Gold Medal winner); I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by fifteen Coretta Scott King Award and Honor Book artists (winner of the NAACP Image Award); The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin by James Cross Giblin (ALA Notable, Orbis Pictus Honor Book); Blizzard! by Jim Murphy (Siebert Honor Book, ALA Notable); and The Great Fire by Jim Murphy (a Newbery Honor Book, Orbis Pictus Award, Boston-Globe Horn Book Honor). Ms. Hess has taught children's book writing and is a frequent guest speaker at various universities and national conferences. Her publishing credits include an adult nonfiction book on menu design and, more recently, a short story published in the Simon & Schuster collection, Soul Searching (Kirkus starred review). Workshop: Real People, Great Stories: The Art of Writing Biography back to top
	BRUCE HISCOCK Inspired by the wild places of North America, Bruce has traveled the continent from the Arctic tundra to the arid deserts—and everywhere in between—observing, sketching, and writing in his journal. He combines his love of nature with his writing and illustration talents to create award-winning books. Residing on a remote Aleutian Island as a boy fueled his curiosity about nature and eventually led him to a degree in chemistry and a research career before turning his focus to writing children’s books. Workshop: Writing from Nature: Blazing a Trail from Field Journal to Publication back to top
	ETHAN HUNER Wearing many hats under the naturalist title, Ethan’s life is devoted to environmental concerns. Active with the community, he is an educator, activist, field guide, and natural historian all rolled into one. A key figure at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC), Ethan’s efforts have extended to Mohonk Mountain House, Redtail Nature Awareness Camp, Delaware River Sojourn, The Eagle Institute, Appalachian Mountain Club, National Park Service, and Audubon Society. Workshop: Writing from Nature: Blazing a Trail from Field Journal to Publication back to top
	PETER P. JACOBI Peter is professor emeritus of journalism at Indiana University and a consultant with magazines and corporations, helping CEOs, writers, and editors learn to express their ideas more effectively. His articles have appeared in World Book, The New York Times, Highlights for Children and others. His two guidebooks, The Magazine Article: How to Think It, Plan It, Write It and Writing with Style: The News Story and the Feature, are standard reference sources for journalists. Workshop: The ABC's of School and Library Visits (previously Life in the Spotlight) back to top
	PAUL KOWALCZYK Paul is a longtime forester with deep firsthand knowledge of the Pennsylvania woods. As manager of the forest surrounding Boyds Mills House, he directs efforts to maintain the forest as a healthy habitat for wildlife as well as a source of timber. Workshop: Writing from Nature: Blazing a Trail from Field Journal to Publication back to top
	SUSAN PEARSON Special guest faculty member Susan Pearson began her career in publishing in the early 1970s and has held positions as Editor-in-Chief of Carolrhoda Books, Editor-in-Chief of Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, and currently Editor-at-Large at Chronicle Books. Over the years she has worked with hundreds of picture books creators including Ted and Betsy Lewin, Emily Arnold McCully, Steven Kellogg, Leo and Diane Dillon, Jerry Pinkney, Laura Krauss Melmed, Jim LaMarche, Mark Buehner, Floyd Cooper, Alma Flor Ada, George Ancona, and Juanita Havill. She is also the author of more than twenty books for children, and the anthologist of The Drowsy Hours: Poems For Bedtime (Harper 2002). The first collection of her own verse, Squeal And Squawk: Barnyard Talk, will be published in Spring 2004 by Marshall Cavendish. Workshop: Picture Books A - Z back to top
	LAURENCE PRINGLE Laurence is an award-winning author of more than 100 books about nature, science, health, and environmental issues. Educated as a wildlife biologist, he combines his science background with curiosity about the natural world in his books. A former science teacher and magazine editor, his full-time writing career spans four decades. The Chicago Tribune hails him as “one of America’s top nonfiction writers for young people.” Workshop: Writing from Nature: Blazing a Trail from Field Journal to Publication back to top
	MARILETA ROBINSON Marileta is a senior editor at Highlights for Children, where she edits fiction and poetry in addition to writing each month’s installment of the popular feature "TheTimbertoes." A free-lance writer before coming to Highlights, Marileta has published two picture books and several magazine stories. Her background includes teaching in the Peace Corps and on the Navajo reservation, as well as instructing for the Institute of Children’s Literature. She holds a master’s degree in bilingual education and is a regular speaker at SCBWI conferences around the country. Workshop: The Hero's Journey—Bringing the Power of Mythic Structure to Your Writing back to top
	STEPHEN ROXBURGH Stephen has been involved with children’s books and publishing for more than twenty-five years, first as an academic, then as senior vice president and publisher, Books for Young Readers, at Farrar, Straus and Giroux; and as the president and publisher of Front Street Books, a small, independent press he incorporated on April 1, 1994. In 2004, Stephen added the title of associate publisher of Boyds Mills Press when Front Street Books became part of the trade publishing division of Highlights for Children. Stephen has worked with such authors and artists as Felicia Bond, Nancy Eckholm Burkert, Brock Cole, Carolyn Coman, Roald Dahl, Madeleine L’Engle, An Na, Marilyn Nelson, Adam Rapp, Alvin Schwartz, George Selden, Uri Shulevitz, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Garth Williams, and Margot Zemach. Workshop: Seeing into Your Story Back to Top
	WENDY SCHMALZ Wendy Schmalz is the principal and founder of the Wendy Schmalz Agency. She has over twenty-five years of experience representing a wide range of writers for both the children's and adult markets. Her current client list includes Sandy Asher, Seymour Simon, and Ed Koch, to name a few. Wendy began her career at Curtis Brown and then moved on to Harold Ober Associates, where she worked for twenty-three years and was a principal of the company. She founded her own agency in 2002. Workshop: Writing Your First Novel back to top
	NANCY SPRINGER Nancy has published around forty novels for children, young adults, and adults, including fantasy, magical realism, mystery, contemporary, women's fiction, and suspense. Her work has received numerous honors, including Best Adventure Book of the Year, for Outlaw Princess of Sherwood Forest: A Tale of Rowan Hood, from Disney Adventures magazine in 2004, and two Edgar Allen Poe Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. Workshop: The Hero's Journey—Bringing the Power of Mythic Structure to Your Writing back to top
	NEIL WALDMAN Neil Waldman has illustrated nearly fifty books, many of them award winners. His accolades include the Washington Irving Award, the Parents Choice Award, the Christopher Award, and the National Jewish Book Award. His illustrations and designs have graced the covers of a number of Newbery winners, including Hatchet, The Winter Room, and A Fine White Dust. One of his more recent books, The Promised Land, was published in 2002 by Boyds Mills Press. A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, he is currently an art instructor for the State University of New York and the Westchester Art Workshop. Workshop: Breaking into the Field of Children's Book Illustration back to top
	RICH WALLACE Rich is the author of four acclaimed novels for young adults: Playing Without the Ball, Wrestling Sturbridge, Shots on Goal, and Restless. He has also authored a short-story collection called Losing Is Not an Option, and a series of sports novels for middle-grade readers called Winning Season. His columns, profiles, and other features have been published in Highlights, Track and Field News, Runner’s World, and other publications. Rich is a former senior editor at Highlights for Children. Workshop: Writing Novels for Young Adults back to top
	DOUG WECHSLER Doug is a wildlife biologist and photographer who takes his inspiration from jungles, swamps, and seashores as well as his own backyard. By showing the wonders of nature and its humorous side, he hopes to motivate his readers to deepen their interest in their natural surroundings. His photographs have appeared in hundreds of publications, including International Wildlife, BBC Wildlife, Audubon Magazine, National Geographic, National Wildlife, and Smithsonian Magazine. Workshop: Writing from Nature: Blazing a Trail from Field Journal to Publication back to top
	ED WESELY Ed is director of the Butterfly Barn Nature Center located on the Pennsylvania bank of the Delaware River, where he rears and releases about 400 monarch butterflies each summer. Ed’s environmental education background provides the foundation for his many outreach activities, including numerous publications, lectures, and guided field tours. He is currently developing a natural-history Web site. Workshop: Writing from Nature: Blazing a Trail from Field Journal to Publication back to top
	CAROLYN YODER Carolyn is senior history editor at Highlights. She has written extensively on research and writing history for children. George Washington: The Writer, edited and compiled by Carolyn, was recently released by Boyds Mills Press, and her latest book John Adams: The Writer will soon be released by Calkins Creek Books. Carolyn also reviews juvenile books for the Civil War Book Review and has been a writer and editor for the New Jersey Historical Society. She has served as the award-winning editor in chief of Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Young People; Calliope, Faces, Odyssey, and as assistant publisher of Cobblestone Publishing, Inc., overseeing development of its book division. She has also been the executive director of the New Hampshire Antiquarian Society, and a writing tutor at New England College. Carolyn was recently named editor of Calkins Creek Books, a new history and historical fiction imprint of Boyds Mills Press. Workshop: Mixing Research with Imagination: The Art of Writing History and Historical Fiction Workshop: Nonfiction - It's More than Just the Facts! Workshop: Real People, Great Stories: The Art of Writing Biography back to top