Acknowledgments

Tide pool flowers, Inisheer, Ireland (Photo © Lara Bessette).

Infinite Gratitude

Writing, editing, and publishing are not solitary pursuits. I would be neither the writer nor the person I am without my creative coterie.

Thank you for your invaluable friendship, constructive feedback, patience, humor, and more to

Family & Friends

Daphne Tuccitto (she/her), creator of Rooted: Local Journey and author of Rooted: Our Journey to Local, Sustainable Living (coming soon).

Kate Schoedinger (she/her), M.F.A. in Writing for Children & Young Adults, at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, the Class of January 2020, Writers Without Borders.

My Librarians, Librarians I’ve Not Yet Met & Library Patrons

for your support for and love of books, literacy, and community.

My Editorial Services Clients

for trusting me with your manuscripts and letting me contribute to your publishing journeys. Your creativity, passion, and tenacity inspire me to persist with my editing and writing every day.

The Class of January 2019, Wrights of the Round Table

in the M.F.A. in Writing for Children & Young Adults (W.C.Y.A.), at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (V.C.F.A.), including

Maureen Charles (she/her), co-author (with Ashley Walker) of Music Mavens: 15 Women of Note in the Industry (Chicago Review Press, 2023), book 9 of CRP's "Women of Power" young adult biography series; contributing author of School Bullying: Tools for Avoiding Harm and Liability (Corwin Press, 2007); editor; and writing coach.

Rhonda DeChambeau (she/her), writer for children and young adults; the Associates of the Boston Public Library’s 2022-23 Writer-in-Residence; author of Top Heavy (Holiday House, 2025).

Sue Ganz-Schmitt (she/her), award-winning author of Skybound!: Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist (Calkins Creek Books, 2024); That Monster on the Block (Two Lions/Amazon, 2020); Now I'm a Bird (Albert Whitman, 2020); Planet Kindergarten: 100 Days in Orbit (Chronicle Books, 2016); Planet Kindergarten (Chronicle Books, 2014); and more.

Jessica Guerrasio (she/her).

Kristen Ritter (she/her), writer; humorist; playwright; and Fulbright Fellow.

Gail Vannelli (she/her), children’s and young adult fiction writer; recipient of several Writer’s Digest awards; kidlit reporter, editor, and interviewer, contributing to Cynsations and Lunch Ticket Literary Journal; and founder of Kids Story Studio, a free kids’ story writing and drawing class.

Mentors & Teachers

William Alexander (he/him), author of Goblin Secrets (McElderry, 2012).

Alan Cumyn (he/him), novelist; author of, among other titles, North to Benjamin (Simon & Schuster, 2018), Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend (Simon & Schuster, 2016), Tilt (Groundwood, 2009), and The Secret Life of Owen Skye (Groundwood, 2002).

A.S. King (she/her), author of numerous, award-winning books, most recently Attack of the Black Rectangles (Scholastic, 2022) and Switch (Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2021); speaker; educator; painter.

Uma Krishnaswami (she/her), author of books for young readers, including Birds on the Brain, illus. Julianna Swaney (Groundwood Books, August 2024), companion to Book Uncle and Me; Look! Look!, illus. Uma Krishnaswamy (Groundwood Books, April 2024), companion to Out of the Way! Out of the Way!; Two at the Top: A Shared Dream of Everest, illus. Christopher Corr (Groundwood Books, 2021).

Kekla Magoon (she/her), Margaret A. Edwards Award-winning author of many acclaimed novels and nonfiction books for children and teens, including Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People (Candlewick, 2021), The Season of Styx Malone (Wendy Lamb Books, 2018), and How It Went Down (Henry Holt, 2014).

Mary Quattlebaum (she/her), author of 30 award-winning picture books, chapter books, nonfiction, and poetry for children, including Adorable Animals (National Geographic Kids, 2022) and Brother, Sister, Me and You (National Geographic Kids, 2019); reviewer; instructor; freelance editor; faculty, Vermont College of Fine Arts M.F.A. program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Nova Ren Suma (she/her), New York Times-bestselling author of YA novels including A Room Away from the Wolves (Algonquin Young Readers, 2018), The Walls Around Us (Algonquin Young Readers, 2015), Imaginary Girls (Dutton Juvenile, 2011), and more.