Hello! I'm Allison.
Photo: Emily Ann Studio
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Teacher turned writer. I taught middle school language arts, literature, and science (the BEST combo!) for ten years, but put my teaching career on hold when my son was born in 2015. After five years of full-time parenting, in 2020 I decided to pursue my lifelong dream of writing children's literature. Someday I hope to sneak my way back into the classroom by creating books that teachers and students will reach for in their school libraries.
Author turned author-illustrator. After a year of focusing on writing, in 2021 I decided I wanted total world domination and jumped headlong into the world of digital illustration. Check out some of my self-illustrated writing on my blog, or see some of my favorite pieces on my portfolio page. I also have a little side hustle creating custom pet portraits! Farm girl turned city girl. I was born and raised on a wheat farm with the nearest neighbor a mile down yonder. When I moved to Seattle after college, it was a bit of a sensory overload. After fifteen years of city life, I can finally say that I've adjusted, though I still attempt to keep the family farming gene alive with my backyard veggie garden, compost heap, worm bin, and mason bee house. |
PUBLISHED WORK
Look for three of my poems in upcoming issues of HIGH FIVE magazine!
KID LIT CONTEST PRIZES / RECOGNITION
Winner - August 2022 #SCBWIDrawThis Illustration
Finalist for "Louie's Lightning" - 2022 PBParty Contest
5th Place for "Percy's Performance" - Susanna L. Hill's 2022 Valentiny Contest
13th Place for "The Gift Wrap Trap" - Kailei Pew's Kids' Choice Kid Lit Contest
Winner - Tonnye Fletcher's #PBJamz logo design contest
Le Grand Biscuit Award: #CookiePitch December 2021
Honorable Mention for "Solstice Skaters" - Susanna L. Hill's Holiday Contest 2021
Honorable Mention for "Martha's BEESiness Trip" - 2021 Spring Fling KidLit Contest
Honorable Mention for "The Little Llama that Could" - 2021 PBParty Contest
5th place for "Let it Grow! Let it Grow! Let it Grow!" - Susanna L. Hill's Holiday Helper Contest 2020
Finalist for "The Little Llama that Could" - 2020 389 Literary Pop-up Agency event
Grand Prize winner - Selected by Corey Rosen Schwartz in the 2020 Twitter #PBFest rhyming challenge
Look for three of my poems in upcoming issues of HIGH FIVE magazine!
KID LIT CONTEST PRIZES / RECOGNITION
Winner - August 2022 #SCBWIDrawThis Illustration
Finalist for "Louie's Lightning" - 2022 PBParty Contest
5th Place for "Percy's Performance" - Susanna L. Hill's 2022 Valentiny Contest
13th Place for "The Gift Wrap Trap" - Kailei Pew's Kids' Choice Kid Lit Contest
Winner - Tonnye Fletcher's #PBJamz logo design contest
Le Grand Biscuit Award: #CookiePitch December 2021
Honorable Mention for "Solstice Skaters" - Susanna L. Hill's Holiday Contest 2021
Honorable Mention for "Martha's BEESiness Trip" - 2021 Spring Fling KidLit Contest
Honorable Mention for "The Little Llama that Could" - 2021 PBParty Contest
5th place for "Let it Grow! Let it Grow! Let it Grow!" - Susanna L. Hill's Holiday Helper Contest 2020
Finalist for "The Little Llama that Could" - 2020 389 Literary Pop-up Agency event
Grand Prize winner - Selected by Corey Rosen Schwartz in the 2020 Twitter #PBFest rhyming challenge
WHAT I WRITE
My mission is to write books that will delight children, get their brains and imaginations sparking, and provide opportunities for educators and parents to have meaningful discussions when the story is over.
For picture books, I write in both rhyme and prose and love to use humor and wordplay to make any subject fun and memorable. Whenever possible, I try to include some sort of educational tie-in so that teachers could pull my books off the shelf for an easy lesson.
As the mother of a child with epilepsy, I'm also passionate about seeing his condition positively represented in children's literature.
For slightly older readers, I am working on writing (and illustrating!) several series of chapter books with hard-hitting subject matter like mermaids, gnomes, ghosts, and raccoons.
My mission is to write books that will delight children, get their brains and imaginations sparking, and provide opportunities for educators and parents to have meaningful discussions when the story is over.
For picture books, I write in both rhyme and prose and love to use humor and wordplay to make any subject fun and memorable. Whenever possible, I try to include some sort of educational tie-in so that teachers could pull my books off the shelf for an easy lesson.
As the mother of a child with epilepsy, I'm also passionate about seeing his condition positively represented in children's literature.
For slightly older readers, I am working on writing (and illustrating!) several series of chapter books with hard-hitting subject matter like mermaids, gnomes, ghosts, and raccoons.
Writing Memberships and Organizations:
SCBWI
12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge
Storyteller Academy Makers Plus member
Lisa Bardot's Procreate Art Makers Club
Professional Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education - Washington State University
Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction - Seattle University
SCBWI
12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge
Storyteller Academy Makers Plus member
Lisa Bardot's Procreate Art Makers Club
Professional Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education - Washington State University
Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction - Seattle University
