Authors in Schools

Each year since 2005, a group of the Festival authors has visited classrooms in the Ann Arbor schools, with the assistance of a group of dedicated individuals working to set up the visits. Children meet the authors and learn from them about their creative processes in areas of writing and illustrating, inspiring the young people and helping to develop an appreciation for and a love of books and reading and writing. Please meet our authors for 2010 below. (The visits are arranged internally with the school staff and are not open to the public.)

Mark Crilley

Mark Crilley was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where he began drawing as soon as he could hold a pencil in his hand. After graduating from Kalamazoo College, he taught English in Taiwan and Japan for five years before returning home to pursue work as an author and illustrator. He has since had two series of juvenile fiction novels, "Akiko" and "Billy Clikk", published by Random House, and is currently at work on "Miki Falls", a series of graphic novels for HarperCollins. His work has been featured in Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, and on CNN Headline News. He lives with his wife Miki, and children, Matthew and Mio, in the suburbs of Detroit.

Chris Lin

Chris Lin was born in Detroit, and is a native of Troy, Michigan. He has resided in Ann Arbor since attending at the University of Michigan in 1987. He studied Chinese, Economics, Marketing and graduating from the Ross School in 1993. He was marketing director of Ford in China (1997) and a Deloitte Consultant (2005). Chris' joy in life is his daughter, Mandy, who was adopted from Anqing, Anhui, China in 2004. In 2006 he began publishing books to teach her Chinese.

Tara Michener

I live in Novi, MI. My dream has always been to write stories that inspire self-esteem and acceptance of others. I am now living my dream. I hope that my books inspire children to be well-rounded and to realize that if they have a dream it can come true as well. The main character in "Who I am not what I am" is Janelle a young girl that finds that it is more important to discover "who she is" than to fit into what others want her to be. I hope that you enjoy this book! I am available for school visits, library programs and more. Contact me at whoiamnotwhatiam@yahoo.com.

Charity Nebbe

Charity Nebbe spent her childhood wandering the prairies and woodlands of Iowa. Now she explores the woods near Dexter, Michigan where she lives with her husband, daughter, and son. They share their small home with three wonderful mutts, five lazy housecats, and two cats that are quite busy. When she’s not out walking in the woods with dogs and kids, Charity hosts public radio programs on Michigan Pubilc Radio in Ann Arbor. Our Walk in the Woods is her first book for children.

Jim Ottaviani

Jim is the author of graphic novels about scientists, ranging from physicists to paleontogists to behaviorists. His books are probably the only ones to have received acclaim from both Physics World and Vampirella Magazine...and everything in between, including The Comics Journal to Discover to Entertainment Weekly to Time to Variety. Upcoming titles include biographies of Richard Feynman and the "Trimates" (Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas) for First Second, and a story about the space race for Aladdin, Simon & Schuster's young adult imprint. He comes to comics via careers in nuclear engineering and librarianship, and when he's not writing or running trails, he gives talks on comics and science in venues ranging from public libraries in small Michigan towns to the Nobel Museum in Stockholm.

Jacqui Robbins

Jacqui Robbins has filed resumes, sold books, written grants, worked the grill at a snack bar, and taught students from ages 6 months to 65 years. Jacqui's first book, The New Girl... And Me (Atheneum, 2006, illus. by Matt Phelan) was a Parents Choice Silver Award Honor winner. Her latest book, Two of a Kind (Atheneum, 2009, illus. by Matt Phelan), was a Horn Book recommended back to school choice and a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best pick. You can find Jacqui online at www.jacquirobbins.com.

Tom Woodruff

As a children's book illustrator, Tom has found the ideal way to combine his love of literature, art, history and natural science. Together, Woodruff and longtime friend, John Mitchell have produced four Great Lakes related history books for children: Michigan, An Illustrated History for Children, Great Lakes and Great Ships, Indians of the Great Lakes and Prehistoric Great Lakes. For the past twenty years, Tom Woodruff has shared his knowledge and love for Michigan and the Great Lakes area with students and teachers in hundreds of schools, libraries and conferences throughout the region. Tom lives on Long Lake, near Ionia, Michigan, with his wife Pamela, and daughter Lydia.