RUTGERS UNIVERSITY COUNCIL ON CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
| Council Members |
The Council's membership comprises noted authors and illustrators of books for young readers, distinguished editors, agents, and academic professionals. Caroline Abbey Editor, Bloomsbury Children's Books. Caroline Abbey acquires and edits at all age levels with a focus on middle grade and young adult fiction. Her current projects include The Kid Table, by Andrea Seigel, Sean Griswold’s Head, by Lindsey Leavitt, and the middle grade mythology-inspired Pandora series by Carolyn Hennesy. Upcoming projects include Small Town Sinners, by Melissa Walker, The A Circuit, by Georgina Bloomberg and Catherine Hapka, Villain School: Good Curses Evil, by Stephanie S. Sanders, and How to Be a Good Cat, by Gail Page. She was previously with Simon Pulse before joining the Bloomsbury team. Author. Specializes in picture books, beginning readers, chapter books and magazine stories. Marcie writes for both trade and educational publishers, fiction and nonfiction. Her newest trade books include four math ‘Read it Readers’ – The Pizza Palace, The Tallest Snowman, Mike’s Mystery and The Lemonade Standoff. Other trade books include: The Giant Jelly Bean Jar (A Garden State Book Award nominee), Uncle Willy’s Tickles, India, and Guatemala. Marcie has also written over two dozen educational books for guided and leveled reading programs. She is the author of licensed activity books for DreamWorks, Looney Tunes, Clifford—The Big Red Dog, Holly Hobbie, and others. Her short stories are featured in numerous children’s magazines including Highlights for Children, Spider and Children’s Playmate. Member: Authors Guild, SCBWI. Author. Paul Acampora writes fiction for middle grade and teen readers. He is a former kindergarten teacher, a current college administrator and a member of the SCBWI. Paul’s short stories have appeared in Scholastic's Storyworks as well as other magazines and collections. According to Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist and others, his work is star-worthy. Paul’s first novel, Defining Dulcie (Dial), was recognized by VOYA as a “perfect 10.” Paul’s upcoming novels, including Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face (August 2011), will come from Roaring Brook Press. He lives in Allentown, PA. Eve Adler Editor, Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of the Penguin Young Readers Group. Eve Adler works on a variety of formats, including series, readers, novelty, and licensed properties. She is looking primarily for middle grade series, as well as writers-for-hire. Prior to joining Grosset & Dunlap, Eve worked at Henry Holt Books for Young Author/illustrator. Peter Catalanotto graduated from Pratt Institute in 1981 and began working as an illustrator for print publications such as Reader's Digest, and American Girl Magazine. In 1984, he began illustrating young adult book covers. After painting the jacket for Judy Blume's Just as Long as We're Together in 1987, editor Richard Jackson asked him to illustrate Cynthia Rylant's picture book, All I See. Mr. Catalanotto was soon encouraged to write his own picture books. He has published 37 books for children to date, 13 of which he has written, including Ivan the Terrier, Matthew A. B. C. and Emily's Art. He has illustrated the work of some wonderful writers including Mary Pope Osborne, Megan McDonald, George Ella Lyon and Robert Burleigh. Author/Illustrator. Lindsay specializes in picture books. Her books include: The Secret; Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse; My Bunny and Me; Around the Pond: Who's Been Here?; In the Woods: Who's Been Here?; Around the World: Who's Been Here?; and In the Snow: Who's Been Here?; Box Turtle at Long Pond, by William T. George; and Beaver at Long Pond, co-written by William T. George. Her books have received the following honors: American Bookseller "Pick of the List," Children's Literature Choice, Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children NSTA/CBC, and Library of Congress Children's Book of the Year. Member: SCBWI, Authors Guild, Audibon Society, Wayne County Arts Alliance, Penn Center. Vivian Grey, Council Chair Council Chair. Author. Editor. Teacher. Vivian is the founder of the One-on-One Plus Conference, she has been an active participant since its inception. An elected member of the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame, she is a lecturer at Temple University where she teaches, “Writing for the Children’s Market,” and other creative writing courses. Her award-winning titles have been included in numerous “notable” or “Best Books” lists. Her title, Roentgen’s Revolution: The Discovery of X-Rays, is in the Pennsylvania State Library’s Children’s Collection. Her recent biography about baseball legend, Moe Berg, The Spy Behind Home Plate: The Story of Moe Berg, is under option for TV or film. Author. Pamela specializes in picture books, chapter books, and short middle-grade fiction. She has published over 25 books for children, some of which include: Monster Countdown; Noelle of the Nutcracker, illustrated by Jan Brett; Monster Mischief; Spring is Here! and Fall is Here!; and the Winky Blue series from Mondo which have gone into CD, big book, and Spanish editions: No Way, Winky Blue!; Take a Bow, Winky Blue!; Right On, Winky Blue!; Winky Blue Forever; Way to Go, Winky Blue! and Winky Blue Goes Wild. Publisher's Weekly has described her latest book, A Vampire is Coming to Dinner 10 Rules to Follow (Penguin 2010) as a "ghoulishly good time." Little Goblins Ten (Harper ) illustrated by NY Times best-selling illustrator, Jane Manning, will be out in August, 2011. Pamela has also written a web-based animation series for children, scheduled to go on-line in 2012. Her books have appeared in Scholastic Book Clubs, on ABA “Pick of the Lists,” and Weekly Reader and foreign language editions. Member: SCBWI and Author’s Guild. Denise Lang Author. Producer. Teacher. Denise is an award-winning investigative reporter, editor & author, with books ranging from YA nonfiction to health/family issues and true crime for adult readers. Denise Lang is also a television producer. She has been a guest on shows ranging from Oprah to CBS This Morning, and her producing credits include the national shows Court TV’s Parco P.I., Ambush Makeover, Shipmates, Judge Mills Lane, Day & Date and Dateline. Denise’s adult books include A Call for Justice; The Dark Son; Coping with Lyme Disease; How to Stop Your Relatives from Driving You Crazy, and The Phantom Spouse. Young adult titles include But Everyone Looks So Sure of Themselves, a New York Public Library’s selection to the Permanently Recommended list, and Footsteps in the Ocean. Denise has served as a judge for the Emmy Awards for Children’s Television Programming for 3 years and is an Adjunct Professor for the NYU College of Continuing and Professional Education. Author. David specializes in fiction for teens and tweens. He’s written novels (Hidden Talents), Story collections (In the Land of the Lawn Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales) and chapter books (Punished). His stories have appeared in Boys’ Life, Highlights for Children, Read Magazine, and various anthologies. He recently finished a five book series, Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie, and contributed a story to a Jon Sceiszka anthology. In a past life, he designed and programmed video games, including Frogger 2 and Home Alone, and Fantastic Voyage. He has more than two and a half million books in print, though he hasn’t actually counted them himself. Author. Wendy Mass’s books for young readers have been translated into 12 languages and nominated for 40 state book awards. Her first, A Mango-Shaped Space, was awarded the Schneider Family Book Award. Others include Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, Every Soul a Star, 11 Birthdays and The Candymakers. Wendy also supplied the storyline for an episode of the TV show Monk entitled "Mr. Monk Goes to the Theatre," which aired during the show's second season. She lives in Sparta, New Jersey. Author. Jim Murphy specializes in nonfiction and fiction dealing with American history for elementary age children through young adults. Among his many critically acclaimed works are An American Plague; Inside the Alamo; Blizzard!; West to a Land of Plenty; The Great Fire; The Boys' War, and The Long Road to Gettysburg. He has received two ALA Newbery Honor Awards, the ALA Robert F. Sibert Award, as well as a Sibert Honor Book Award; three NCTE Orbis Pictus Awards; the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and a Boston-Globe-Horn Book Honor Book Award; two SCBWI Golden Kite Awards; The Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Award; the James Madison Book Award; three Virginia Library Association Jefferson Cup Awards, and been a Finalist for the National Book Award. Author. Is the award-winning author of numerous picture books including: Apple Tree Christmas (which she wrote and illustrated), The Scarlet Stockings Spy (IRA Teacher’s Choice, 2005), The Last Brother (2006), The Legend of Michigan(2006), and The Legend of the Cape May Diamond (2007). Her newest titles are: The Pennsylvania Reader (2007), The Orange Shoes (IRA Teacher’s Choice 2008), and the New Jersey Reader (2009) published by Sleeping Bear Press. Ms. Noble also wrote the ever-popular Jimmy’s Boa series, illustrated by Steven Kellogg, and Meanwhile back at the Ranch, both featured on PBS’s Reading Rainbow. Her many awards include ALA Notable Children’s book, Booklist Children’s Editors Choice, IRA-CBC Children’s Choice, Learning: The Year’s Ten Best, and several Junior Literary Guild Selections. She was awarded Outstanding Woman in Arts and Letters in the state of New Jersey for her lifetime work in children’s books. Rachel Orr Agent, Prospect Agency. Rachel represents a wide range of children’s book authors, including those who write board books, picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels and YA novels. She also launched Prospect Agency’s artist representation service two years ago and is pleased to represent ten very talented illustrators. Some of Rachel’s clients include Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, A.C.E. Bauer, Jason Chin, and Cori Doerrfeld. Prior to joining Prospect Agency in 2007, Rachel worked as an editor for eight years at HarperCollins Children’s Books. For more information on Prospect Agency, please go to: Author. With 15 books (twelve novels and three picture books) published In her first lucky 7 years as an author, Coleen is best known for her 1/2 million selling debut novel The Wedding Planner's Daughter (Simon&Schuster), which launched a popular tween series, published internationally, soon to be an ABC Original Family Movie. The sixth "Willa book," From Willa, With Love, (Scholastic Press), was published this year. Her novel, Sunny Holiday, (Scholastic Press), was named a New York Public Library "Best Book" and a Bank Street College "Best Book"" and the sequel, Sweet and Sunny, was an ALA Notable. Her picture book, 26 Big Things Small Hands Do, (Free Spirit), won a Creative Child "Seal of Excellence" and iParenting Media Award. A popular conference speaker and writing workshop leader, Coleen loves doing school visits where she talks about catching inspiration like fireflies in a mayonnaise jar. Coleen's next novel, DREAMSLEEVES, (Scholastic Press), Spring 2012, is about a girl who believes if you have a dream you should wear it on your sleeve for the world to see. Coleen pitched what would be her first published book to an editor here at the Rutgers Conference and two years later was the "Success Story" speaker. "If you can dream it, you can do it. Three cheers for Rutger's, hoorah!!" Author and illustrator. Specializes in writing and illustrating biographies about “people who should be better known”. She has written and illustrated 19 books and illustrated 55. Her books have received many awards, including a ‘Coretta Scott King Honor’ from the American Library Association (ALA), International Reading Association (IRA), Parents Choice and Bank Street honors; and notable designations from NCSS/CBC, NSTA, and many state library and reading associations. Deborah’s books have been featured on C-span Book-TV, and PBS Reading Rainbow. Her biography, Down The Colorado: John Wesley Powell, the One Armed Explorer, an ALA Notable Book for 2008, and James Madison History Award recipient, was selected by then Governor Janet Napolitano for her Arizona literacy project: 100,000 copies were given to every fourth grader across the state. Wanda Gag: The Girl Who Lived to Draw, an ALA Notable Book for 2009, was picked by on-line children’s literature reviewers for their ‘Cybils’ award in non-fiction. Her newest book Dinosaur Mountain: Digging Into the Jurassic Age, was also a ‘Cybils’ finalist, and named a ‘Notable Book for 2010’ by Smithsonian magazine. Mary Riskind Author, Librarian. Mary Riskind specializes in middle grade fiction. Her books include Apple Is My Sign, an ALA Notable Book; Wildcat Summer, named to the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age; and Follow That Mom!, starred in School Library Journal (all from Houghton Mifflin) She has also written plays and for the educational market. She is the director of the Bergenfield Public Library in Bergenfield, New Jersey, offering a busy, high-quality Children's/ Young Adult program in a newly renovated facility. Member: SCBWI, Authors Guild. Brian Schatell Illustrator. Author. Brian Schatell has written and/or illustrated numerous picture books, including Two Crazy Pigs; the Farmer Goff series, and Pup and Pop, his first collaboration with his wife, Jane Gerver. His work has been recognized by School Library Journal Best Books and IRA-CBC Children’s Choice Awards and others. For 12 years he taught children’s book writing and illustration at Parsons School of Design. A freelance illustrator and childrenswear artist, he has spoken frequently at schools and libraries. Author. Lyn Sirota's publishing credits include fourteen nonfiction animal/nature books. She has a middle grade science book about Wildfires also in print. In January of 2011, she publishes her 16th book, a biography about the singer, Pink. Sirota has also published articles and poetry in Highlights, Wee Ones, Saplings, Boy's Quest, Hopscotch, Ladybug, Spider, Dragonfly Spirit, Moo Cow Fan Club, Holiday Crafts 4 Kids, Fandangle, Cecil Child, Stories for Children and Inspiration Station magazines. She wrote a series for Next Step magazine about careers with animals, careers in medicine, law and education. She has also published an information technology career profile in American Careers magazine. As a regular contributor to Science Weekly, Sirota has published several issues (K-6th grade) including “How Birds Fly,” “Hot Springs,” and “Whales.” Her next issue will be “Poisonous Animals.”. Member: SCBWI. Author. Pamela Curtis Swallow specializes in elementary and middle grade fiction and nonfiction. Her books include: Groundhog Gets a Say (Penguin Putnam/Scholastic); It Only Looks Easy (Roaring Brook Press/Scholastic); The Melvil and Dewey Series (Libraries Unlimited); A Writer’s Notebook (Scholastic); Wading through Peanut Butter (Scholastic); No Promises (Putnam/Scholastic); and Leave It to Christy (Putnam/ Scholastic). She is currently writing a biography about Ellen Swallow Richards, found of ecology. Pam’s books are included on several state award lists. She is a former school librarian and is a member of SCBWI, Authors Guild, River Stone Writers, Bucks County Authors of Books for Children, and the New Jersey Educational Associaton. Edie Weinberg Edie Weinberg is Everything at Edie Weinberg Design. Edie loves to art direct and design picture books. Notable recent titles she’s designed are SNOWBALL FIGHT! by Jimmy Fallon and SHEETZU-CACA-POOPOO! by Joy Behar. Edie also loves to create more sophisticated and serious designs in nonfiction, most recently she designed a middle-grade biography REV. DANIEL A. PAYNE: GREAT BLACK LEADER. While at Cartwheel Books/Scholastic Inc., Edie was the art director of the I SPY PICTURE RIDDLES series and their Hello Reader! line. More recently, Edie art directed a new leveled reading program for Wireless Generation. Tina Wexler Agent, International Creative Management (ICM). Tina Wexler represents authors in the children's and adult marketplace, with a focus on middle grade and YA fiction. Current and forthcoming titles include The Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon, How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart, Tilly the Trickster by Molly Shannon, Bigger Than a Breadbox by Laurel Snyder and Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu. She is particularly interested in tall tales/magical realism, gothic romance, sci-fi adventure, urban fantasy, and novels-in-verse. Originally from Maine, she now lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and son. Marietta Zacker Agent, Nancy Gallt Literary Agency. Marietta has professionally experienced every aspect of children’s books for over 15 years, working with authors, illustrators, publishers, educators and readers. As an agent at Nancy Gallt Literary Agency, she is passionate about bringing those worlds together. She represents authors whose work make her pause, shiver or laugh out loud and illustrators who add a completely different dimension to the story being told. Marietta approaches her work with the knowledge that there are remarkable books of all genres, targeted to all ages, just waiting to be discovered. Aside from her work as an agent she is also the Book Curator at Sparkhouse, an independent toy store & bookstore in South Orange, NJ. Emellia Zamani Assistant Editor, Michael di Capua Books / Scholastic Press. Emellia was part of the editorial team that worked on the New York Times bestselling Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. Other recent titles she's worked on include My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee, Mouse & Lion retold by Rand Burkert, illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert, and Those Rebels, John & Tom, by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. Emellia is particularly interested in middle grade fiction that is whimsical, laugh-out-loud funny, or beautifully heartbreaking and that will ultimately appeal to both boys and girls. Her favorite books include Matilda, The Phantom Tollbooth, and The Book Thief. Prior to joining Scholastic, Emellia worked at Writers House Literary Agency. Originally from California, she now calls Brooklyn, New York home.
.......................................................................................... Former Council Members Gail Aaron, Tracey Adams,
Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Rob Blake, Courtney Bongiolatti, Pat Brisson, Denise Brunkus, Virginia Buckley, Joan
Carris, Dennis Cate, Barbara Cohen, Floyd Cooper,
|