54th Annual Convention West:
Phoenix Author–Teacher Partnerships

Stephen Chbosky, Simon & Schuster Adult Books

Stephen Chbosky started his career in the independent film world. He wrote and directed the cult film, The Four Corners of Nowhere, which premiered in the Sundance Film Festival's Dramatic Competition and went on to play 20 festivals in 6 countries, finally being among the first movies ever shown on the Sundance Channel. Since making the film, Chbosky has devoted his time to writing in several different mediums. As a novelist, Chbosky's debut, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, was published by MTV/Pocket Books. Now, in its 30th printing with 785,000 copies in print, the book has been embraced by readers and press including Time Magazine, USA Today, the Harvard Book Review, and the LA Times, as one of the significant coming of age novels for a new generation. It has been named one of the American Library Association's Ten Most Challenged Books for 2006. It has been published in 12 languages in Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Anna Dewdney, Penguin Young Readers Group

Anna Dewdney lives in Vermont and is the author and illustrator of Llama Llama Red Pajama, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, and the forthcoming Llama Llama Misses Mama (Summer 2009). In addition to the New York Times bestselling Llama books, she is also the author and illustrator of Grumpy Gloria and Nobunny’s Perfect.

Tim Egan, Houghton Mifflin

Tim Egan is the author and illustrator of several offbeat and humorous tales for children. He is consistently recognized for his individuality and delightful illustrations. Born in New Jersey, Tim moved to California to attend the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He still lives in southern California with his wife, Ann, and their two sons.

Jessica Day George, Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Jessica Day George is the author of Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, Dragon Slippers, and Dragon Flight. Originally from Idaho, she studied at Brigham Young University and now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, their young son, and a five pound Maltese named Pippin.

Will Hobbs, HarperCollins Children’s Books

Will Hobbs is the award-winning author of seventeen novels for young readers, including Crossing the Wire, Jason’s Gold, Far North, and Downriver. Seven of his books have been chosen by the American Library Association as Best Books for Young Adults. A graduate of Stanford University, Will lives in Durango, Colorado, with his wife, Jean. They are frequent visitors to southern Arizona's deserts and mountains. Crossing the Wire combines the author's on-the-ground experience with extensive research into the hardships facing immigrants attempting to cross illegally into the U.S. through these forbidding landscapes.

Henry H. Neff, Random House Children’s Books

Henry Neff lives in California, where he teaches history and fine arts at a private high school. The Hound of Rowan is his first book.

Anne Sibley O’Brien, Charlesbridge Publishing

Anne Sibley O’Brien knew she wanted to be an artist by the time she was seven. Born in Chicago, she moved with her family to New Hampshire on her first birthday. Six years later, her parents were hired as medical missionaries and assigned to serve in South Korea. She was raised bilingual and bicultural, living in the cities of Seoul and Taegu, and on the island of Kojedo. Returning to the U.S. at age 19, Annie attended Mount Holyoke College where she majored in studio art. She spent her junior year back in Korea at Ewha Women's University in Seoul, where she studied Korean arts, including Oriental painting. During college, she decided that she wanted to pursue a career in children's book illustration. The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea is the 25th picture book she has illustrated, and the 10th she has written. In addition to creating books, Annie has been involved for many years in diversity education and leadership training. She is also a performer, and has created a one-woman show entitled "White Lies: one woman's quest for release from the enchantment of whiteness". Annie lives with her husband on an island in Maine, and is the mother of two grown children.

Pat Schories, Boyds Mills Press

In addition to having illustrated the Biscuit series by Alyssa Satin Capucilli— Biscuit; Biscuit Finds a Friend; Hello, Biscuit!, etc.— Pat Schories is the illustrator and author of He’s Your Dog (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) and Mouse Around (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) described by Kirkus Reviews as "an unusually strong debut." Pat is now using her storytelling skills to create a new wordless picture book series about a dog named Jack and his family. She relies exclusively on visual techniques to create compelling pictorial narratives. The Jack books are proving to be endlessly useful for encouraging careful observation, language development, sequencing, plot development, and ultimately, a love of books and reading. The series includes Breakfast for Jack, Jack and the Missing Piece, Jack and the Night Visitors, and Jack Wants a Snack, all of which are published by Front Street, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press. Ms. Schories lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

Elaine Scott, Clarion Books

Elaine Scott has written many award-winning nonfiction books, including several on planets and space. On the Clarion list she is the author of When Is a Planet Not a Planet? and Mars and the Search for Life.