Schedule
Linda Ashman . . . is the author of many acclaimed books for children, including Babies on the Go, named one of the Best Books of 2003 by both Child and Parenting magazines, and Castles, Caves & Honeycombs, a Booklist Editors' Choice for 2001. In a starred review of The Essential Worldwide Monster Guide, Kirkus called her "as pithy and clever as Ogden Nash at his best."  Her ninth book, Just Another Morning, will be published in May, and nine more are due out within the next five years. Linda primarily writes rhyming picture books and poetry collections. 
Eris Klein . . . is a professional illustrator living and teaching in Fort Collins. She has worked as a Graphic Artist for more than ten years and has run her own illustration business for the last six. In that time she has won several awards, including The 2001 Educational Press Award and The 1996 Colorado Independent Publisher’s Award. Published works include books such as Interpreting Dreams A-Z and a popular little deck of cards called Wisdom Cards. Most of her work is distributed nationally and can be seen at any Barnes and Noble bookstore. To view samples of her work, visit Eris Klein’s website at: www.erisart.com.
Karen J. Kohn . . . currently serves as Senior Art Director for Carus Publishing Company, where she is Art Director for two children’s magazines: Muse for ages 10 to 14 and Ask for ages 7 to 10. She has designed over 200 books and magazines. She began her design career at the Chicago Historical Society in 1979, where she served as Director of Design from 1982 through 1984. As head of a design firm specializing in museum exhibit design and children’s educational materials for fifteen years, she has been the recipient of numerous design awards and has participated in several National Endowment to the Humanities grants. She worked regularly for clients such as Scott Foresman, Grolier Publishing, The Shedd Aquarium, The Museum of Science and Industry, Kraft Foods, and Motorola.
Frank Lloyd Kramer
 . . . has been writing children’s poetry, entertaining himself, his family, and friends for 20 years. Frank’s poetry has been published by Kendall-Hunt Publishing, Children’s Better Health Institute, Guideposts for Kids, Crystal Springs Books, Highlights for Children and others. He is the author of two books published by Castle Publishing: Cats, Dogs Bugs & Frogs and From the Theater of My Mind, both illustrated by Vickie Leigh Krudwig. During his professional career he worked as a general manager in sales for a large financial institution and as an independent corporate financing consultant and private venture capital investor. Frank is a professional Cajun Storyteller, having been a regular participant in the International Cajun Joke Telling Contest in Opelousas, Louisiana.
Alice Letvin . . . joined Carus Publishing in 2000. As Editorial Director of the Cricket Magazine Group, she works closely with Marianne Carus on the “bug magazines," based in Peru, Illinois, and has direct responsibility for Babybug, Ladybug, and Spider. From the Chicago office, she also directs the nonfiction line, co-published with Smithsonian magazine; this includes Click, Muse, and a new magazine Ask, which she launched in 2002. Before coming to Carus, Ms. Letvin served as Editor, Editorial Director, and President of the Great Books Foundation, publisher of the Junior Great Books program. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and has published a scholarly book on French surrealism.
Claudia Mills . . . is the author of over 35 books for young readers, including the Gus and Grandpa series of easy readers, the chapter book 7 x 9 = Trouble! (an ALA Notable Book, with translations forthcoming in French and Korean), and many novels for middle-grade readers, including Losers, Inc., Lizzie at Last, and You're a Brave Man, Julius Zimmerman (nominated for ten state readers' choice awards). Claudia is also a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and mother of two boys, who provide much comic material for her writing.
Lauren Myracle . . . holds an MA in English from CSU and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. Her first novel, Kissing Kate, has been selected as one of ALA’s "Best Books for Young Adults" for the year 2004. It has been named by Booklist as one of the "Top Ten Youth Romances" of the year, as well as one of the "Top Ten Books by New Writers." Her middle-grade novel, Eleven, is due out this February, and her young adult novel TTYL (Talk to You Later) will come out in April. Along with these titles, she has written three other books for young people, all of which are forthcoming in the next couple of years.
Marjorie Blain Parker . . . is the author of many, many manuscripts – some of which have actually been published. Her picture book, Jasper's Day (Kids Can Press), was a Junior Library Guild Selection and the recipient of numerous awards. Her early readers for Scholastic include Ice Cream Everywhere!, and the soon-to-be-released trio of Hello, School Bus!, Hello, Fire Truck!, and Hello, Freight Train! In 2005 her picture books If I Could Be (Dutton) and A Paddle of Ducks (Kids Can Press) will finally see the light of day. She is currently working on a collection of "duck" poems for young readers, as well as a series of humorous chapter picture books about a mischievous newt.
Phyllis J. Perry . . . writes for children and educators. She has published over 40 books in the last twelve years and also contributes regular columns for two children's magazines, Think & Discover and Above & Beyond. She also writes poems, plays, articles, and short stories for a number of children's magazines. Her two most recent books, Mr. Crumb's Secret and The Secret of the Silver Key (Alleyside Press) combine a fiction mystery with the teaching of library skills. Phyllis spent this past fall serving as an artist-in-residence at an elementary school in Longmont. She taught a variety of writing techniques to students, and shared expertise with teachers and media specialists, through a grant funded by the Longmont Council for the Arts in the St. Vrain Valley Schools.