Jessica Lee Anderson
Jessica Lee Anderson is the author of Trudy (winner of the 2005 Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature), Border Crossing (Quick Picks Nomination, Cynsational Book of 2009), as well as Calli (2013 Rainbow List Final Nomination, 2011 YALSA's Readers' Choice Booklist Nomination). She’s published two nonfiction readers, as well as fiction and nonfiction for a variety of magazines including Highlights for Children.
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Chris Barton
Chris Barton is the author of Can I See Your I.D.? True Stories of False Identities, Shark vs. Train, and The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family and enjoys Segway tours, and dreaming up new ideas for great books.
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Ernest Cline
Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One, is an American novelist, spoken word artist and screenwriter. He lives in Austin, TX, and proud owner of a Delorean.
Please see the bio on his site. I cannot come close to doing it justice. |
PJ Hoover
Her first novel for teens, Solstice (Tor Teen, June 2013), takes place in a global warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade novel, Tut (Tor Children's, 2014), tells the story of a young immortal King Tut, who's been stuck in middle school for over 3,000 years and must defeat an ancient enemy with the help of a dorky kid from school, a mysterious Egyptian princess, and a one-eyed cat.
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Varian JohnsonVarian Johnson is the author of Saving Maddie, My Life as a Rhombus, and A Red Polka Dot in a World Full of Plaid. He was born and raised in Florence, South Carolina, and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received a BS in Civil Engineering. Varian later attended the Vermont College of Fine Arts, where he received an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Varian is also the co-founder of The Brown Bookshelf, an online community charged with highlighting established and up-and-coming African-American authors of children’s and young adult literature. (Short bio from his Web site.)
Longer biography available. |
Louis Sachar
Louis Sachar is author of Holes, the Marvin Redpost Series, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, and his latest title, The Cardturner, to name just a few. He an his family live in Austin, TX, where he is frequently found playing Bridge. Visit his site for a full biography.
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Cynthia Leitich Smith
Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling author of the TANTALIZE series and FERAL series. Cynthia has also published YA short stories and award-winning books for younger readers and may be found on the Web at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com.
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Greg Leitich Smith
A native of Chicago, Greg Leitich Smith now lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, author Cynthia Leitich Smith, and four cats. Although he’s never built a time machine, Greg has degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, he has a degree in law from The University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor.
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Mari Mancusi
Mari Mancusi used to wish she could become a vampire back in high school... But she ended up in another blood sucking profession --journalism -- instead. Today she works as an author of books for teens. When not writing about creatures of the night, Mari enjoys traveling, cooking, goth clubbing, watching cheesy horror movies, and her favorite guilty pleasure--videogames. A graduate of Boston University and a two time Emmy Award winner, she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Jacob, daughter Avalon and dog Mesquite.
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Jennifer Ziegler
Jennifer Ziegler is the author of Sass and Serendipity, a new YA novel that gives Jane Austen a South-Texas spin. Her other books include: Alpha Dog, a 2007 Teddy Award finalist; How Not to Be Popular, a pick for the Lone Star Reading List and an International Reading Association’s Young Adults’ Choice; as well as several teen series books penned under different pseudonyms. She lives in Austin, Texas with her family.
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Project WISE Author Visits
Many of our visiting authors have been sponsored by a grant through the Writers' League of Texas. Project WISE (Writers in Schools for Enrichment) provides schools the opportunity to have, at no cost to the school, a visit by a local author.
The authors work with students or give a presentation. Students get to pepper them with questions about what it's like to be a "real" writer. Our experiences have always been wonderful and we're very grateful to The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division for continuing to fund this grant and enhance our students' educational experiences.
Many of our visiting authors have been sponsored by a grant through the Writers' League of Texas. Project WISE (Writers in Schools for Enrichment) provides schools the opportunity to have, at no cost to the school, a visit by a local author.
The authors work with students or give a presentation. Students get to pepper them with questions about what it's like to be a "real" writer. Our experiences have always been wonderful and we're very grateful to The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division for continuing to fund this grant and enhance our students' educational experiences.