Wendy Mass is the author of eight novels for young readers, including A Mango-Shaped Space (which was awarded the Schneider Family Book Award by the American Library Association), Leap Day, the Twice Upon a Time fairy tale series (Rapunzel: The One with All the Hair; and Sleeping Beauty: The One Who Took the Really Long Nap), Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life and Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall. Every Soul a Star is her most recent, followed by 11 Birthdays in January, 2009. Wendy wrote the storyline for an episode of the television show Monk, entitled "Mr. Monk Goes to the Theatre," which aired during the show's second season. She tells people her hobbies are hiking and photography, but really they're collecting candy bar wrappers and searching for buried treasure with her metal detector. 

A day-long school visit consists of any combination of up to 3 fifty-minute presentations or writing workshops, and lunch with a small group of students. In her presentation, Wendy candidly shares her own journey as a writer, and talks about the joys of reading and of sharing yourself with others through creative writing. She discusses what went into writing each of her novels, and as a former editor, she is able to talk about the writing and publishing process from all angles. Wendy's presentations also focus on setting goals in life, and on encouraging students to follow their dreams. A prop that includes a roll of laminated rejection letters is always a big hit. Q & A follows.

The writing workshops are a more intense look into the writing process, and fun exercises are aimed at bringing out the joy in creative writing. The goal is for students to leave feeling more confident about their own writing abilities and inspired to keep writing.

For more information on her books, visit http://www.wendymass.com/

Comments on Wendy's school visits:

"Our girls clapped and cheered for Wendy Mass.  She was extremely well prepared, organized and fun.  She had the girls do a writing exercise and handed out a terrific resource packet on writing opportunities for children.  Her talks about the writing process were age appropriate and she was obviously very comfortable with the girls.   I thought she was one of the best presenters we have had in recent years.  Ms. Mass was also very unassuming and spent a lot of time autographing books.  The girls thought she was terrific." --Katherine Menz, Librarian, Lower School, National Cathedral School, Washington, D.C.

 "When you visited my school I was in "in class support" English class, which is basically like a special education class mixed with an average English class. Your book, A Mango Shaped Space, was the first book I have EVER, believe it or not, read the whole thing of. I am now in High School, in an Honor's class, a long jump from where I was before, and have a B+ average. You just inspired me so much that I started writing. It has been a big part of my life since, and when people ask who my writing role model is I'd always start off by saying, "Well last year we had a author named Wendy Mass..."  --Student, Morris County NJ

Author's Home: Sparta, NJ
Suggested Audience: Grades 4-8, professional groups (writers, teachers, librarians)
Maximum number of presentations per day: 3
Author's Honorarium: $2,200 per day plus expenses.

ISBN	Title	Level	Retail Price
HARDCOVER
0-545-05239-9	11 Birthdays	Gr. 4-7	$16.99 Jan 2009
PAPERBACKS
0-439-79656-3	Twice Upon a Time: Rapunzel, The One with All the Hair	Gr. 4-7	$5.99
0-439-79657-6	Twice Upon a Time: Sleeping Beauty, The One Who Took the Really Long Nap	Gr. 4-7	$5.99