Bio:

I am so lucky! I’m a farmer turned folk musician turned author of picture books and an award-winning novel in poems for teens.

My most recent picture book, NEW YEAR AT THE PIER--A Rosh Hashanah Story, illustrated by Stephane Jorisch (Dial), won the gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Younger Readers...the Best Jewish Picture Book of the Year. Yippee!

It's about the ritual of Tashlich--in which we toss bread into water to clear the slate for the new year. It's about forgiveness and learning how to apologize.

My works have also won the Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Award, Penn State's Lee Bennett Hopkins Honor Award for Children’s Poetry, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Magazine Merit Award for Poetry(seven times).

The CD of my stories and poetry won the National Parenting Publications Gold Award for Storytelling (yes, that’s me playing the fiddle!)

I'm proud to be the West Coast blogger on www.TeachingAuthors.com ~ six children's authors who also teach writing.

I’ve taught writing and poetry throughout the US and in Germany, England, Italy, France, and Poland. With my best friend author Bruce Balan, I co-founded the organization, Authors and Illustrators for Children (www.aiforc.org), and am a founding member of the Children’s Authors Network. And I can’t believe I’ve been an instructor with UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program for over a decade!

My husband, son and I own a too-tall, teen-aged, licky, lanky dog, two cats (Elsie and Snot), five turtles (including one named Roadkill), a tortoise named Sheldon and a gazillion frogs.

I live with my family near the beach in Southern California where I toss bread off the pier each New Year.

Writer
PAL
Member since 1984
Region: California: Los Angeles County

Contact Information

Current Location:   CA
Website:  http://www.aprilwayland.com

Published In Children's Market: Yes
Available for Speaking Engagements? Yes