Lois Szymanski writes stories for children of all ages. Her many picture books, fiction novels and nonfiction books have been published by multiple publishers. She loves to write and speak about the wild Chincoteague Ponies. Szymanski's has been researching the Chincoteague Ponies who live wild on Assateague Island, Virginia for nearly 30 years. The author of 28 books for children, she enjoys speaking to children in elementary schools, at writers' events and doing inspirational talks for smaller groups, frequently bringing along a live Chincoteague Pony to meet the crowds. Szymanski's books include the colorful, photo filled nonfiction books; "Chincoteague Ponies = Untold Tails" and "Out of the Sea: Today's Chincoteague Pony". Her book, "The True Story of Sea Feather" was a finalist for the Crystal Kite Award in the combined region. It tells the miraculous story of her own family's Chincoteague Pony - the pony that inspired her to found the nonprofit group, the Feather Fund, to help children purchase their own Chincoteague Pony foals. Most recently, Szymanski's picture book "Surfer Dude - Legendary Stallion of Chincoteague" was released. It follows the picture book "Wild Colt," the story of a foal's life in the wetlands, written in verse and including a wildlife identification guide. Szymanski teaches "Writing for the Children's Markets" at Carroll Community College in Westminster, MD. She was the global author in residence at two Wicomico County schools for 10 years, mentoring young writers online. She also writes for her local paper, "The Carroll County Times" and has written for countless magazines, including "Highlights for Children," "U*S* Kids," "Hopscotch Magazine for Girls," and "Turtle Magazine for Preschoolers." Szymanski was the Regional Advisor of the MD/DE/WV chapter of SCBWI for many years.
Her current books in print include: "Surfer Dude - Legendary Stallion of Chincoteague", "Chincoteague Ponies: Untold Tails", "Wild Colt", "The True Story of Sea Feather", "The True Story of Quintilius", "The True Story of Miracle Man", "Little Icicle", "A Pony Named Patches", "Grandfather's Secret", "Your Chincoteague Pony Foal's First Year", "Out of the Sea - Today's Chincoteague Pony", "The Ghost Comes Out", "Ghost Onboard", " Night Mare", Ghosthunter", "Courage Pockets", "Courage Stones", and two sets of Chincoteague Pony Identification cards. Learn more about Lois Szymanski on her website at www.loisszymanski.com or find her on Facebook.