The Pit Stop
Friday, November 6
12:45 - 2:15 p.m.
Exhibit Hall
One of the highest requests from AASL national conference attendees is more author events, presentations, and appearances. In November, you will have the opportunity to mingle with many regional authors at what we’ve dubbed: The Pit Stop. What? It’s not what you might think. Our Pit Stop is a specially designated area on the Exhibit Hall floor that features authors, storytellers, and illustrators. Don’t miss this chance to mingle, hangout and recharge your proverbial engines at the AASL Pitstop!
Authors
(authors will be added occassionally)
John Claude Bemis author of The Nine Pound Hammer began his writing career as a songwriter, and through old-time country and blues music, began to explore how Southern folklore could become epic fantasy. John lives with his family in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where he teaches his favorite books to elementary school students. Visit his Web site at www.johnclaudebemis.com.
Albert Bell is a literary renaissance man. His previously published works include nonfiction, historical fiction, and mysteries. His articles and stories have appeared in magazines and newspapers from Jack and Jill to the Detroit Free Press and Christian Century. Dr. Bell has served at Hope College in Holland, Michigan since 1978, as a professor of classics and history and chair of the history department. His publications include "Exploring the New Testament Word;" historical fiction, Daughter of Lazarus, All Roads Lead to Murder, Blood of Caesar (named by Library Journal as one of five best mysteries of 2008); contemporary mysteries, Kill Her Again and Death Goes Dutch; and juvenile mystery, Secret of the Lonely Grave.
Clay Carmichael is the author-illustrator of the middle grade novel Wild Things (May 2009, Front Street, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press), as well as three award-winning picture books (North-South) published in many languages. She lives with the sculptor-husband, Mike Roig, and two spoiled cats in Carrboro, North Carolina. Reviews and info: www.claycarmichael.com.
Scotti Cohn (One Wolf Howls) is a freelance writer and editor living in central Illinois. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and the author of five nonfiction books published by The Globe Pequot Press, with a sixth book scheduled for publication by Globe in 2009. Her short stories have appeared in numerous magazines for young people, and her poems about animals have appeared in Highlights for Children and Zootles magazines. Currently, she is working on several picture book ideas along with a fantasy novel for young adults. Scotti has two adult children. She and her husband Ray share their home with five cats. However, Scotti also has a special place in her heart for dogs and their magnificent ancestor, the wolf.
Carol Crane resides in Holly Springs, North Carolina. She has written a number of books including T is for Tarheel: A North Carolina Alphabet Book and Wright Numbers: A North Carolina Number Book by Sleeping Bear Press. In addition she is the author of other books in the Publisher’s Discover America Series including books for Florida, Texas, Alaska, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Delaware. Carol is a historian and an avid journal writer. Traveling around the country, she speaks at reading conventions and schools, connecting with children and educators. Her greatest joy is to have a child say, "Wow! I didn’t know that."
As a child, Kristy Dempsey enjoyed swinging from trees and splashing in the creek on her grandfather’s farm in South Carolina. These days, she lives in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where her favorite moments are time spent with her husband and three children. In addition to reading and writing, Kristy enjoys running and hand-painting glass tiles. And as often as possible, she still makes time to swing from a tree or two. Here new picture book, Me With You, published by Philomel, will be coming out in May.
Judith Geary has served as an adjunct faculty member at Appalachian State University since 1987. She currently serves as a scenario evaluator for Future Problem Solving International and as the scenario director of the North Carolina affiliate. She is author of a young adult novel, Getorix: The Eagle and The Bull, a Celtic Adventure in Ancient Rome and co-author with Sandra Horton of the related curriculum, both recommended for classroom use by the NCDPI and Southern Regional Education Board.
Mike Graf author of The Weather Report and Adventures with the Parkers series currently has 6 books published taking place in: Zion/Bryce, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains, and Olympic. Future books in the works include: Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Arches/Canyonlands, the Badlands/Mt. Rushmore and more. He has written several books on weather for children- fiction and non-fiction, several teacher's books and science kits published on weather. Because his intrigue for weather has never left, he is, at times, a weathercaster for KHSL-TV in Chico.
Currently, Mike teaches Child Development classes at Chico State in Northern California. Most of his time is split between teaching, writing, and visiting schools. He lives in Chico with his wife, Kimberly, daughter, Maggie, and two cats, Clare and Katina. When he has free time, he enjoys biking, hiking, backpacking, camping, and of course, spending time in the national parks.
Fran Hawk's favorite things are children, books, and writing. Writing children's books is her dream come true, because it combines all three. Fran resides in South Carolina, and when the famous Hunley submarine was raised from Charleston harbor, she wrote a children's book about the event. Her next book was called Ten Tips for Raising Readers, in which Fran shares all the best information she had gathered about bringing children and books together. One autumn afternoon, Fran was walking as leaves drifted down all around her. She realized she only knew the names of a few of them, so she got some leaf books from the library and worked on identifying them. Then, she thought it would be interesting to write a children's book that would make it fun to learn the names of leaves. The result was Count Down to Fall.
Gail Langer Karwoski is the award-winning children’s book writer of Julie the Rockhound, Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean, and River Beds: Sleeping in the World’s Rivers published by Sylvan Dell. Before becoming a full time author, Gail taught in Georgia public schools. She frequently returns to schools as a visiting author. Gail married a rockhound. On their honeymoon, they hiked through lush western forests and stark "forests" of petrified wood. They dove into foamy aquamarine waves in the Pacific Ocean and dug into crumbly turquoise deposits in the Southwestern desert. Since then, they’ve gone "treasure hunting" for geodes, fossils, and crystals. At the schools where she taught, her classroom was famous because of the "rock box." She wrote Julie the Rockhound to share this delight in our earth’s treasures with children and their parents. Gail lives near the University of Georgia with her husband, two daughters, and three bossy cats.
Karen Lee has turned from illustrator to author/illustrator with ABC Safari. A visit to the Mote Marine Aquarium with her family inspired a series of drawings and poems beginning with the manatees she discovered there. She comments, "They are surprisingly beautiful, comical, and graceful." Her sketchbook soon represented animals from all over the world. Karen spent over three years on this project, which was the runner up for the 2005 SCBWI Don Freeman Grant. She is also the recipient of the 2004 SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for Illustration for her wok in Highlights for Children. Karen has illustrated three other books for Sylvan Dell, One Odd Day, My Even Day, and My Half Day. She and her husband, also an illustrator, are raising their family outside of Raleigh, NC. Karen’s children join her on many research trips to museums, zoos and aquariums -- tough job, but someone has to do it!
Cynthea Liu spent her formative years in Oklahoma and Texas where she was a member of the Whiz Quiz team, an academic decathlon-er, and a spelling bee champion. (Yes, she was very popular.) After attending Wellesley College, she landed a job as a management consultant. When she had enough of PowerPoint and frequent flyer miles, she traded in her suit for sweats to focus on the fun stuff-writing for children.
She is the author of young adult novel The Great Call of Chicago (Speak, 2009), middle grade novel Paris Pan Takes the Dare (Putnam, 2009), and Writing for Children and Teens: A Crash Course (Pivotal, 2008). Cynthea is also a contributor to The New Writer's Handbook (Scarletta Press, 2008) and a featured children's writing expert on Bizymoms.com.
She lives with her husband and daughter in Chicago. To learn more about Cynthea and her books, visit her website at http://www.cynthealiu.com.
Jenny Moss is a former NASA engineer. She earned a master’s degree in literature and taught writing at University of Houston-Clear Lake. Her first novel, Winnie’s War, was published by Walker Books for Young Readers this year. Her second, Shadow, will be released by Scholastic in 2010. She lives with her family in Seabrook, Texas.
Joyce Moyer Hostetter was born in Quakertown, PA. But, when she one-year-old, she heard about "The South" and decided to move on down! Her parents raised her and her seven siblings in the Hickory, North Carolina area which is also the setting for her novel, Blue.
She received her BA in Early Childhood Education at Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory. Since then she has taught special education, pre-school, homeschool support groups, and camp drama classes. Along with her husband, Chuck, she has raised two children and is now enjoying 5 grandchildren (soon to be 6!).
Joyce began writing for publication in 1991. At first, she freelanced for children’s magazines, a newspaper, and various curricula while practicing the novel. Her first book, Best Friends Forever, was published in 1995. Blue followed in 2006 and Healing Water, a novel about Hawaii’s leprosy settlement was published in Spring 2008. Comfort, (a sequel to Blue) was released in March 2009.
After raising their children in Ocean City, Maryland and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Joyce and Chuck are again living in North Carolina. Joyce has a penchant for old things -- books, furniture, houses and history. She enjoys gardening, scrabble, jigsaw puzzles, and grandchildren. She’s also loves reading, writing, and research!
Lucy Nolan spent many childhood days roaming two very special islands: Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and Amelia Island, Florida, where she collected the family stories that were shared around the dinner tables of hundred-year-old homes. It was only natural that she would eventually combine her love of the sea and storytelling into Gulls. This playful book retells Mother Goose rhymes and embodies everything Lucy loves about America's coastlines! Lucy has been writing since she was four years old and is the author of several picture books and the popular Down Girl and Sit chapter books. She is also a two-time winner in the South Carolina Fiction project, sponsored by the South Carolina Arts Commission. Lucy lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with her daughter and two rambunctious dogs.
Jackson Pearce is twenty-four years old and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with a slightly cross-eyed cat and a lot of secondhand furniture. She recently graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and a minor in Philosophy. She auditioned for the circus once, but didn't make it; other jobs she’s had include obituaries writer, biker bar waitress, and receptionist. In addition, Jackson coaches both colorguard and winterguard at a local high school.
Jackson began writing when she was twelve. Her parents thought it was cute at first, but have grown steadily more concerned for her ever since.
Jackson's first book, As You Wish, will be released by HarperCollins on August 25, 2009. Her second book, Sisters Red, will be released by Little, Brown in April 2011.
Shani Petroff is a writer living in New York City. Bedeviled: Daddy’s Little Angel is her first book. But she also writes for news programs as well as several other venues. Unlike Angel, she has no devil lineage -- at least as far as she knows. She’d love for you to come visit her at www.shanipetroff.com.
About Bedeviled: Daddy’s Little Angel
Turning thirteen is tough -- especially when your dad’s the devil. Literally.
All Angel’s father (a.k.a. the Devil) wants is to be a part of her life. And in return he has the power to give her anything she wants -- including popularity and a date with her long-time crush, Cole Daniels. But Angel will only accept him on her terms: get out of the devil business and leave his special powers out of the equation. Is Angel condemning herself to an eternity of lunch at the losers’ table? Or can she and Daddy Dearest strike some kind of deal?
Donna Rathmell German penned Carolina's Story and Octavia and Her Purple Ink Cloud for Sylvan Dell Publishing. She is also the author of 16 cookbooks, 4 of which were New York Times best-sellers, including The Bread Machine Cookbook Series, which have sold more than 3 million copies. The 1990's brought extensive media experience promoting her cookbooks, with appearances on such nationally respected programs as The Today Show, The 700 Club, Attitudes with Linda Dano, QVC, and a host of other radio and television programs.
Carrie Ryan author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Carrie is a graduate of Williams College and Duke Law School. A former litigator, she now writes fulltime. She lives with her writer/lawyer boyfriend and two fat cats in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are not at all prepared for the zombie apocalypse. You can visit Carrie at www.carrieryan.com.
Emily Smith Pearce is the author of critically acclaimed middle-grade novel Isabel and the Miracle Baby. Her easy reader, Slowpoke, is slated for publication in 2010, and she is currently at work on a young adult novel. Ms. Pearce grew up in Florence, South Carolina. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. She lives with her husband and their two children in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Julia Taylor Ebel celebrates nature, heritage, and cultural history through stories and poetry. Her books include Addie Clawson: Appalachian Mail Carrier; Orville Hicks: Mountain Stories, Mountain Roots; The Picture Man (Parkway Publishers); Walking Ribbon (Viewpoint Press); and Dresses, Dreams and Beadwood Leaves (High Country Publishers/Ingalls Publishing Group).
The North Carolina Society of Historians has presented three history book awards for her previous books. Julia also has over 50 nature poems published in magazines. She lives in Jamestown, North Carolina, but spends time in the North Carolina Mountains, where she finds inspiration for much of her writing. Julia presents programs and workshops for schools, libraries, and community groups. She enjoys speaking about writing, poetry, and keeping stories. www.juliaebel.com
