In addition to penning superb works of journalism for Los Angeles Times, Salon, LA Weekly, and Sierra Club Magazine, Kerry Madden has written plays, screenplays, and six books including Offsides, a New York Library Pick for 1997, and Writing Smarts: A Girl’s Guide to Writing Great Poetry, Stories, School Reports, and More!, published by the American Girl Company.
In 2005 she turned her hand to children’s literature with Gentle’s Holler, the first installment in what became the award-winning Maggie Valley Trilogy. It earned starred reviews in both Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly, was named a “Pick” by both the New York and the Chicago Public Libraries, and was the featured children’s book of North Carolina at the National Book Festival.
The next book in the trilogy, Louisiana’s Song (2007) was equally well received, being named a Bank Street College Book of the Year and a finalist for several other awards. The third book in the series, Jessie’s Mountain, was published in 2008 to strong reviews.
Most recently Madden published a biography of To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee, which was named one of the top ten biographies for youth by Booklist and received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus.
Currently a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, she has also taught at the University of Tennessee, UCLA, Ningbo University in China, and has visited schools across the country as a guest author doing writing workshops for kids of all ages.
Visit www.kerrymadden.com to learn more about Madden and her work.
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