Cherith Baldry
Cherith Baldry was born in Lancaster, England, and studied at Manchester University and St Anne’s College, Oxford. She subsequently worked as a teacher, including a spell as a lecturer at the University of Sierra Leone.
Cherith is now a fulltime writer of fiction for both children and adults. Her children’s fantasy trilogy, the Eaglesmount Trilogy
Cherith lives in Surrey, UK, and is widowed with two grown-up sons. Her interests are reading and early music. She lives with two cats, Brambleclaw and Sorreltail.
Avi is part of a family of writers extending back into the 19th Century. It was his twin sister—also a writer—who gave him the name Avi since she was unable or unwilling to use the name his parents had given him. Born in 1937 and raised in New York City, Avi was educated in local schools, before going to the mid-west and then back to NYC to complete his education. Starting out as a playwright—while working for many years as a librarian—he began writing books for young people when the first of his kids came along.
His first book was Things That Sometimes Happen
Avi lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife and family. Avi's web site: www.Avi-writer.com
Kate Cary
Kate was born in the Black Country, somewhere outside Birmingham and wrote her first book when she was four. It wasn’t very good, or long, or well spelt, but she was proud of it.
School started out easy but grew harder as her teachers became less interested in what Kate could imagine and more interested in what she could remember. But she was a good girl and learned everything they asked her to until she found herself at London University. There Kate studied History. One tutor commented that, to be any good at the subject, she would have to try very hard and for a very long time. She proved him wrong by not trying at all and getting a good BA and then a better MA. Though she lingered at the university as long as she could, when the grants ran out she still had not figured out what she should do for a living. Kate's love of writing had never left her. Studying History had just been an excuse to write stories (History provides great plots and characters), so she decided to try becoming a Proper Writer and wrote and wrote and eventually an editor noticed her and decided she was publishable.
Meanwhile, Kate settled down and had a son, Joshua. And all the time she kept writing, and she will carry on doing so as long as there are other worlds to describe.
Rafe Martin was supposed to be born in beautiful, sunny, Coral Gables, Florida. Instead he was born in a snowstorm in New York City. He has been asking, “What the heck is going on?” ever since. The answers he has gotten have come in the form of stories. His father told of his adventures in WWII, flying in China, Burma, and India, over the Himalayas—the highest mountains on the Earth. His mother read fairy tales aloud to him. His grandparents, aunts and uncles all told stories. But it wasn’t ‘til he had his own children that he discovered that he was a storyteller too. Though his children are grown now he still tells stories—and writes them. When he’s not motorcycling, or reading, or daydreaming, or taking walks with his wife Rose, a former teacher and school principal, he’s writing new books. He’s written over twenty so far—picture books, collections, and novels—and has won many awards including the 2008 Empire State Award. His most recent book the adventurous mythic fantasy novel, Birdwing
First famous for her bestselling tell-all diary of her first year of teaching in a Chicago Public School, Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher's First Year
As you may have heard, Erin Hunter, author of the Warriors
Vicky Holmes
Vicky grew up on a farm and loves all animals, including cats, but most especially dogs and horses. This comes in very handy when she needs to send cats to a sticky end—she’d have a lot more trouble killing off a dog or a horse! After studying English at Oxford University, she rode horses for a living until she decided that she needed a proper job. She tried teaching and realized that she loved books more than all the administration and form-filling that was required, so she became an editor. Which led to coming up with the idea for Warriors, and enlisting the services of Kate, Cherith, and finally Tui to be Team Erin!
Vicky loves being one of the Erins, and frequently dreams of being a cat running through a forest when she is coming up with new storylines. She is currently the very proud owner of a gorgeous Staffordshire bull terrier called Missy who thinks she should write about dogs instead. In the past, she has owned cats ranging from a tiny semi-feral silver tabby who was born on a beam in her father’s barn, to a dignified and handsome lavender point Burmese called Algernon.
Tui T. Sutherland
Tui T. Sutherland was born in Caracas, Venezuela and named after a very noisy New Zealand bird. She is the author of more than 30 books for kids and teens, including the new Pet Trouble
She lives in Boston with her husband and her perfect dog, Sunshine. Visit her blog and read about her other books at www.tuibooks.com!
Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, Speak
Margaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois.
She has since written more than 20 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time
Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio, with their two children.
