Meredith Sue Willis, born and raised in West Virginia, has published twenty books of fiction for adults and children as well as books about writing. She was an early writer-in-the-schools with Teachers & Writer Collaborative in New York City, and has been associated for many years with the New Jersey Writers Project. She is a past Distinguished Teaching Artist of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at New York University’s School of Professional Studies, where she teaches novel writing and other courses. Her recent collection of short stories from Ohio University Press, Out of the Mountains, was praised in Booklist as a “finely crafted collection...worth reading twice.” Her books for children and teens include Marco's Monster, which was named an Instructor magazine best book. Willis has degrees from Barnard College and Columbia University as well as an honorary doctorate from West Virginia University. She is one of the founding members of the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race. Her website is www.meredithsuewillis.com She tweets from time to time @MSueWillis.com Meredith Sue blogs at meredithsuewillis.blogspot.com