Picture books
Chris Gall
chrisgall.com
His artwork has been seen in almost every major publication in America, including Time, Newsweek, People, Fortune, The New York Times, and the Washington Post. Books include America the Beautiful, Dear Fish, Dinotrux, and There’s Nothing to Do on Mars.
Juanita Havill
(No website available.) Author of nearly 40 books for young readers. Titles include Jamaica’s Find, Eyes Like Willy’s, I Heard it From Alice Zucchini and Grow.
B.G. Hennessy
bghennessy.com
B. G. Hennessy writes the popular lift-the-flap series based on Don Freemans’ original beloved bear, Corduroy. Her newest books are The Once Upon a Time Map Book and Play Ball, Corduroy! Her book Because of You is now in its eighth printing and The Boy Who Cried Wolf is in its ninth printing.
Larry Dane Brimner
brimner.com
Brimner has authored more than 150 nonfiction and fiction books for children, including The Littlest Wolf, Max and Felix and Cat on Wheels. His latest is Birmingham Sunday, which explores the history that led up the the tragic explosion outside the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on Sept. 15, 1963.
Conrad Storad
conradstorad.com
Storad has authored more than 30 science and nature books for children and young adults, including Don’t Call Me Pig! (A Javelina Story), Desert Night Shift (A Pack Rat Story), Life in the Slow Lane (A Desert Tortoise Tale) and Don’t Ever Cross That Road! (An Armadillo Story).
Early chapter books
Barbara Park
randomhouse.com/kids/junieb/
Author of the popular Junie B. Jones book series—more than 30 books.
Middle grade gooks
J.S. Lewis
jonslewis.com
Author of the original Grey Griffins trilogy (The Revenge of the Shadow King, The Rise of the Black Wolf and The Fall of the Templar) and The Brimstone Key (from the Grey Griffins Clockwork Chronicles), Lewis is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. His newest novel, Invasion, came out in December 2010.
James Owen
heretherebedragons.net
Owen has written and illustrated two dozen Starchild comics and books, the six-volume Essential Starchild set and the forthcoming Complete Essential Starchild. He is also the author of the Chronicles of Imaginarium Geographica series.
Jewell Parker Rhodes
jewellparkerrhodes.com
Perhaps best known for award-winning fiction for adults (Voodoo Dreams, Magic City, Douglass’ Women, Voodoo Season, and Yellow Moon) and a memoir, Porch Stories: A Grandmother’s Guide to Happiness, her first children’s novel, Ninth Ward, was published in 2010. Parker Rhodes is the Artistic Director for Global Engagement and the Piper Endowed Chair of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University.
Janni Simner
simner.com
Authors fantasy and aventure novels and short stories for children and teens. Titles include: Thief Eyes, Iceland’s Land and Lore, Bones of Faerie, Secret of the Three Treasures and Ghost Horse.
Marge Pellegrino
margepelligrino.com
Former businesswoman-turned-author, she also leads workshops for writers of all ages. Titles include I Don’t Have an Uncle Phil Anymore, Too Nice, My Grandma’s the Mayor and Journey of Dreams.
Terri Fields
terrifields.com
Authors children’s and YA literature. Titles include Danger in the Desert, Counting Arizona’s Treasures, After the Death of Anna Gonzales, Burro’s Tortillas and Holdup.
Jennifer J. Stewart
jenniferjstewart.com
Her website says she writes “seriously funny books for children.” Titles include If That Breathes Fire, We’re Toast, The Bean King’s Daughter and Close Encounters of a Third-World Kind. Her first picture book, The Twelve Days of Christmas in Arizona, was published in late 2010.
Demetrius Whye
demetriuswhye.com
In this Gilbert author’s debut novel, Summer School (D. Whye Enterprises, 2010), the guys from the neighborhood bike club decide to help homeless children learn reading, writing and arithmetic, but soon realize they are learning as much as they are teaching.
Nonfiction
Michelle Parker-Rock
michelleparker-rock.com
Author of a biographical series, Authors Kids Love.
James M. Deem
jamesmdeem.com (also middle grade fiction)
A retired college professor who writes fiction and nonfiction. More than 20 titles, including Bodies from the Ice, Auschwitz: Voices from the Death Camp, Kristallnacht: The Nazi Terror That Began the Holocaust, How to Make a Mummy Talk and How to Read Your Mother’s Mind.
Young adult
Aprilynne Pike
aprilynnepike.com
Author of the faerie stories Wings and Spells.
Robin Brande
robinbrande.com
Author of Fat Cat and Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature.
Stephenie Meyer
stepheniemeyer.com
Author of the runaway tween favorite Twilight series.
Janette Rallison
janetterallison.com
Popular YA author Rallison draws from her own teenage experiences, especially when writing about heroines who find themselves in embarrassing situations. Titles include: Just One Wish, My Fair Godmother and Revenge of the Cheerleaders. Her latest is My Double Life.
