Writers' Biographies*
RUTH B. BOTTIGHEIMER has long had a special interest in fairy tales and their history. Indeed, she has taught children's literature at Stony Brook, as well as at Hollins University and the universities of Roehampton, Innsbruck, Vienna, and Gottingen. She has published a number of articles on children's literature and is on the editorial board of the journal, Children's Literature.
Her books include: Grimm's Bold Boys and Bad Girls: The Moral and Social Vision of the Tales (Yale 1987); The Bible for Children fro the Age of Gutenberg to the Present (Yale 1996); Fairy Godfather: Straparola, Venice, and the Fairy Tale Tradition (University of Pennsylvania 2002).
GREGORY GALLOWAY's first novel, As Simple as Snow, was the recipient of a 2006 Alex Award and it was chosen as one of ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults. Galloway is a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop. His writing has appeared in McSweeney's and The Iowa Review.
CINDY KANE was an editor in children’s trade book publishing for over 20 years, editing books that included the 2001 Newbery Medal winner, A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck, and the 1999 Batchelder Award winner for best translated work, Thanks to My Mother by Schoschana Rabinovici. She has held senior editorial positions with Bantam Books for Young Readers, Four Winds Press, and Dial Books for Young Readers. Cindy has also worked as a supervising editor in educational publishing and has written and edited numerous books for K-8 classrooms. Her middle-grade fantasy novel, The Genie in the Book (written under her married name, Cindy Trumbore), was published in 2004. Cindy has been an instructor at the Institute of Children’s Literature since 2005, teaching adults how to write for children. She lives in Chatham, New Jersey, with her family.
MITCHELL KRIEGMAN is a writer, producer, and actor associated with numerous popular television shows. He is the creator and executive producer of It's a Big Big World, the Emmy-nominated PBS preschool series focusing on environmental awareness. He is also the creator of shows such as, Clarissa Explains It All, Bear in the Big Blue House, and Book of Pooh, and executive head writer and developer of numerous other television series including Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy, Doug, and Life with Derek. Kriegman has written for such publications as The New Yorker, National Lampoon, Glamour and Harper's Bazaar.
Kate McMullan taught sixth grade in inner-city Los Angeles and on an American Air Force base in Germany. In 1975, she decided to try her hand at writing and settled in New York City. To date, has more than one-hundred children’s books to her credit, including the best-selling IF YOU WERE MY BUNNY and the FLUFFY, CLASSROOM GUINEA PIG series for beginning readers. Her other popular series include PEARL & WAGNER and DRAGON SLAYERS’ ACADEMY. For many years, Kate taught “Writing for Children” New York University’s Division of Continuing Education, and was on the faculty of New School University’s MFA Program in Writing for Children.
Jim McMullan was born in Tsingtao, China, went to grammar school in Darjeeling, India, and graduated from high school in British Columbia. He has won Gold Medals for his book and magazine illustration from the Society of Illustrators, as well as the Society’s prestigious Hamilton King Award. He is best known for his posters for Lincoln Center Theater, including Anything Goes, Six Degrees of Separation, and Carousel. He also created the poster for the up-coming production of SOUTH PACIFIC. His most recent book is THE THEATER POSTERS OF JAMES McMULLAN published by Penguin Putnam. Jim has taught at the School of Visual Arts for 35 years, and developed the school’s popular High-Focus Drawing Program.
The McMullans have collaborated on ten picture books, including I STINK!, a monologue by a garbage truck, which received a Boston-Globe Hornbook Honor, was an Irma S. and James H. Black Honor Book for 2002, and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2002. I STINK! was followed by I’M MIGHTY!, the tale of a hard-working harbor tugboat, and I’M DIRTY!, which describes a day in the life of a backhoe loader. Spring 2008 will see the publication of I’M BAD!, a T. rex tell-all. They live in Sag Harbor, New York, with two dogs and a cat.
RICHARD PECK has written over 18 novels for young readers. His book, A Year Down Yonder, won he 2001 Newbery Medal. A Year Down Yonder was the sequel to Peck's 1999 Newbery Honor book A Long Way From Chicago. He also won a Margaret A. Edwards Award, a prestigious award sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association of the American Library Association in cooperation with School Library Journal; and the National Council of Teachers of English/ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature; and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award.
Born in Littleton, New Hampshire, TOR SEIDLER grew up in Vermont and later, Seattle, Washington, in both of which places his parents were involved in the theater. Encouraged by his family's love of the arts, Mr. Seidler studied English literature at Stanford University, and at the age of twenty-seven his first book, The Dulcimer Boy, was published, launching his celebrated career as a writer.
Over the past twenty years, Mr. Seidler has become one of the most important voices in children's fiction with such classics as, A Rat's Tale, The Wainscott Weasel, an ALA Notable Book, Terpin, and Mean Margaret, which was selected as a finalist for the National Book Award in 1997. He currently lives in New York City.
GAHAN WILSON is an author, cartoonist, and illustrator. His cartoons and prose fiction have appeared regularly in Colliers, Look, Punch, The National Lampoon, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and The New Yorker. His children's books include Harry, the Fat Bear Spy, Harry and the Sea Serpent, Harry and the Snow Melting Ray, and Spooky Stories for a Dark and Stormy Night.
*Participating authors subject to change. Schedule of events will be forthcoming.