M Archives - Hudson Childrens Book Festival

Ausherman, Maria Elizabeth

Maria Elizabeth Ausherman, a teacher and independent scholar, lives in Stuyvesant, New York with her husband, Steven Taylor, a photographer. She has two wonderful grown-up daughters and an awesome granddaughter. She enjoys travel, hiking, reading, and spending time with her family, friends, and neighbors.

The author of Masters of Shape: The Lives and Art of American Women Sculptors, Behind the Camera: American Women Photographers Who Shaped How We See the World, The Photographic Legacy of Frances Benjamin Johnston, and co-author with Patricia Jennings of Georgia O’Keeffe’s Hawaii, she earned her B.A. in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.A. in Cinema Studies from the City University of New York and an M.Ed. in Social Science Education from the University of Georgia in Athens, where she also obtained a graduate certificate in historic preservation and completed coursework and a dissertation for a Ph.D. in Art.

Awards
– League of Women Voters Citizenship Award
– Cherokee Rose Garden Club Award
– Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for Historical (Non-Fiction)
– Starred Reviews

3 Fun Facts

1. Maria wants people to love art history as much as she does.
2. Maria loves team work. She played wing on the Varsity Women’s Field Hockey team at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill where she grew up.
3. Maria’s favorite job of all time was using a 1733 Danish map to find historic plantation sites on St. John, the smallest of the three main U.S. Virgin Islands.

Muntean, Michaela

Michaela Muntean has written dozens of books including many for Sesame Street, the Muppets, and Little Golden Books. Two of her most recent books include Do Not Open this Book! and Do Not EVER be a Babysitter! Both feature an incredibly crabby (but funny) Pig. She is also the author of Stay, a true story about a circus performer who rescued ten dogs no one else wanted and trained them to perform in a circus act. She lives in Ghent, New York, with her husband, author Nik Cohn, and their rescue dogs, Beau and Tess.

Keystone to Reading Book Award
Grand Canyon Reader Award
Charter Oak Children’s Book Award
Bank Street CBC Best Children’s Books of the Year

3 Fun Facts

1. I wish I could sing, but I can’t. In fact, a music teacher once asked if I could just “mouth the words” so that those around me wouldn’t be thrown off key.
2. I might stink as a singer, but I am excellent at mini-golf.
3. I went to welding school. So, if you ever need something welded, I could do it for you.

Macris, Amy

Author Illustrator Amy Macris began her career as a kindergarten teacher more than thirty years ago. She holds a Masters degree in Early Childhood Development. She is thrilled to bring these tender and true stories to children everywhere. At age six Amy dreamed of becoming a teacher, an artist, a children’s book author and of living on a farm. She doesn’t live on a farm yet, but who knows what the future holds. amydeweerd.wixsite.com/mysite

3 Fun Facts

1. Amy has been drawing and writing stories since she was six years old.
2. Amy loves to read to small children.
3. Amy makes a huge mess when she is writing and painting!

Miller, Kayla

Kayla Miller is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Click graphic novel series and co-author of its spin-off series Besties. They studied at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and graduated with a BFA in Illustration. Kayla currently lives and works in New York state and when not writing or drawing they enjoy watching bad movies, trying to cook new recipes, playing board games, and reading other people’s graphic novels. www.kayla-miller.com

Awards
Kayla’s books have been featured on the New York Times, Indie, and USA Today Best Sellers lists as well as selected for inclusion on the Little Maverick Reading List, the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List, The Illinois Bluestem Award Master List, Parents Magazine 30 Best Books of the Year, Barnes & Noble’s Best Books of the Year, A Mighty Girl’s Best Books of the Year, and chosen as Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections.

3 Fun Facts

1. My hair has been pink, purple, blue, black, red, and green… but it’s naturally brown.
2. I didn’t always want to be a cartoonist. Growing up, I wanted to be a paranormal investigator with a specialty in ghosts and aliens… and, presumably, ghosts of aliens.
3. My favorite meal is breakfast! I love how breakfast can combine sweet and savory and spicy all on one plate— or even inside of a single sandwich!

Miller, Sharee

Miller, Sharee

Sharee Miller is an acclaimed illustrator and author of many picture books including Don’t Touch My Hair. She lives in Jersey City with her spouse, son, and their two cats. Her books include Princess Hair and Don’t Touch My Hair and Michelle’s Garden published by Little Brown for Young Readers. Her most recent work can be seen in Sam’s Super Seats, written by Keah Brown. She is currently working on her debut graphic novel series Curlfriends set to debut in Fall 2023.

Sharee Miller’s books have been featured in Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times. Don’t Touch My Hair! was an African-American Literary Award Winner in the “Children’s Book” category and an ALA Children’s Notable Book.

She invites you to visit her website at shareemiller.com and her Instagram @coilyandcute.

3 Fun Facts

1. Sharee can wiggle her ears
2. She was born in Athens, Greece.
3. She has two cats whose names are Pumpkin and Spice.

McCully, Emily Arnold

McCully, Emily Arnold

I have been illustrating children’s books since 1967 and writing them since 1980. After college, I moved to NYC and worked on the fringes of advertising. My first children’s book came about by happy accident. I have also published adult novels and a Y/A biography of Ida M Tarbell, the Woman Who Challenged Big Business- and Won! www.emilyarnoldmccully.com

More biographies of Ada Byron Lovelace and 21 other important women are coming later this year.

3 Fun Facts

1. I wrote my first book at 3
2. I once acted in an Of-Broadway play
3. I eat weeds

Michelson, Richard

Michelson, Richard

RICHARD MICHELSON’s many books for children, teens and adults have been listed among the Ten Best of the Year by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and The New Yorker. He has two Sydney Taylor Gold Medals from the Association of Jewish Libraries, and he is the recipient of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award and received a 2016 Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship for poetry. www.RichardMichelson.com.

3 Fun Facts

1. I own R. Michelson Galleries which represents many well know illustrators, including many Hudson Book Fest participants
2. Leonard Nimoy and I spoke or emailed each other every day for the last 10 years of his life.
3. I have a musical theater piece about the artist Edvard Munch opening in 2019 (not for children).

Marchese, Allison Guertin

Marchese, Allison Guertin

Allison Marchese is a graduate of Fordham University in New York City with a degree in communications and creative writing. She spent much of her professional career in public relations. In her work as a writer, Allison has created plays, and written short fiction, feature articles, and essays on the people, places and events in her adopted home of Columbia County, NY where she has lived for 30 years. Allison says she has always been a writer at heart and has history in her genes. Her family on her father’s side has kept meticulous records of the family dating back to the early 1600s in Anjou, France. Her idea of writing local histories blossomed when she and her husband purchased a historic 1740s colonial home in the hamlet of Malden Bridge, NY. They have lived there for many yeas with their two cats and possibly several other previous inhabitants. The Hidden History of Columbia County, NY, is Allison’s first history book. She follows up with her newest local history book, Hudson Valley Curiosities which contains some of the region’s most suspenseful stories and features some of the most infamous people to step foot in the region.

3 Fun Facts

1. I love history and reading.
2. I ride horses
3. I have a metal detector

Manushkin, Fran

Fran Manushkin is the author of over 100 books, including the popular Katie Woo series, as well “Happy In Our Skin,” and the best-selling board books “Big Girl Panties” and “Big Boy Underpants.” She loves to meet her readers! www.franmanushkin.com

3 Fun Facts

1. I’ve written over 100 books.
2. I am always singing songs in my head.
3. I need chocolate every day!

McDonough, Yona Zeldis

McDonough, Yona Zeldis

Yona Zeldis McDonough is the author of 28 books for children, including several in the highly popular WHO WAS…? series. She has also published seven novels for adults as well as articles, essays and short fiction. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband, photographer Paul McDonough.

3 Fun Facts

1. I love Pomeranians and I’ve had as many as three at once.
2. My husband built a doll house for me. It inspired one of my books (The Doll House Magic) and it has pride of place in our living room.
3. I like to memorize poetry an know over sixty poems by heart.