Amy MacDonald

Author of the best-selling Little Beaver and the Echo, a book which has been translated into 26 languages!

Kady MacDonald Denton

Author of A Visitor for Bear, about an unlikely friendship between a bear and a mouse. Working in an old tall yellow brick house, Kady is an author and illustrator whose books have won many awards and been translated into many languages.

Carolyn Mackler

A novelist typified for her fresh, frank and funny approach to teenage life as seen in The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things.,I wanted to write a love story with a perfect fairy tale ending, says Carolyn Mackler of her latest novel, GUYAHOLIC. "But I knew it was going to star V Valentine, who is seventeen, hurt, and terrified of making a commitment -- even if it is to Prince Charming." Carolyn Mackler has a knack for getting into the minds of teens, capturing their angst, inserting a dose of irreverent humor, and putting it all in her books. The result has been critical acclaim, literary awards, and most important, the loyal attention of her readers. GUYAHOLIC, a follow-up to VEGAN VIRGIN VALENTINE, zeroes in on the free-spirited V as she graduates from high school and takes a solo road trip across the country to get away from her family and her boy troubles but inevitably realizes that her real problem is with herself. "In telling this story, I had to see how far V would go to find her happily-ever-after," says Carolyn Mackler of her protagonist's challenge. The author uses travel as a metaphor for change -- change of scenery, change of mind, and changing of old habits. Carolyn Mackler, a regular contributor to GIRL'S LIFE developed her passion for stories while growing up in western New York. Her mom read to her constantly, and there was much storytelling in the house. "My dad would tell me what he called his 'roots,' the stories of his life," she recalls. As a result, family interactions tend to play a big role in the author's novels, but so does good old-fashioned research. For GUYAHOLIC, Carolyn Mackler consulted approximately thirty to thirty-five people, including agricultural experts, sports trainers, business travelers, and of course, young women to capture the essence of her main character's cross-country experiences. "Much of V's drive is flat and nondescript," she notes. "So the interesting challenge of this story was to milk the nondescriptiveness for language That lets the reader see what V is seeing and be in that car with her, but also make it feel poetic and intriguing and all the other spectacular sensations that anyone would feel out there on the open road." As for Carolyn Mackler's own journey as an author, it has garnered her continual praise -- as well as other sorts of attention. THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS, a novel about a plus-size girl surrounded by her high-achieving family, received a prestigious Michael L. Printz Honor while also earning the number-four spot on the American Library Association's "10 Most Challenged Books of 2006." VEGAN VIRGIN VALENTINE was chosen as an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. A New York City resident, Carolyn Mackler says that when she's not writing, she likes to walk in Central Park, swim in lakes (not in Central Park!), and continue her search for the best croissant in the city. When people ask her what her ideal job would be, she says it's exactly what she's doing.

Elizabeth MacLennan

Lindsay MacLeod

Gregory Maguire

New York native Gregory Maguire rose to fame with his best-selling novel WICKED, which has sold millions of copies around the globe and remains a sensation as a Broadway musical. Now the author of an impressive collection of nineteen children's books, five adult novels, and numerous short stories presents a mesmerizing new novel: WHAT-THE-DICKENS: THE STORY OF A ROGUE TOOTH-FAIRY, a fantasy that is sure to engage children of every age and background. It was in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the author says, that he turned what had been a thirty-page BOSTON GLOBE serial project called "Gangster Teeth" into a longer novel with a much larger bite. "I found a way to expand a light-winged story that would not, I hoped, make light of children's suffering or the need to believe in the next good thing that might happen," he says of his latest novel. Gregory Maguire worked for eight years as a professor and associate director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature before receiving his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University. "Nothing serves a writer better than getting to teach children's books as literature--as an art form that relies on traditions of narrative shapeliness and verbal pizzazz as well as saucy innovation," the author says. He also co-founded and currently co-directs Children's Literature New England (CLNE), a nonprofit educational charity that promotes awareness of the significance of literature in the lives of children. With those aims in mind, Gregory Maguire has served on the juries for the Caldecott Medal, the National Book Award for Children's Books, and the NEW YORK TIMES Best Illustrated Books of the Year. And what advice would he pass along to aspiring young writers? When he himself was growing up, Gregory Maguire mimicked Harriet the Spy's investigative route. "Get a spy notebook and spy on everyone," he suggests. "Try not to get in trouble. Try not to break the law. But pay attention and write it down. That's the best training a would-be writer can have." Gregory Maguire lives with his family outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

Jean Mahoney

Author and creator of the 'Nutcracker Ballet Theatre', the 'Swan Lake Ballet Theatre and the 'Sleeping Beauty Ballet Theatre'.,Jean Mahoney was born and raised in New York but lived in many places, including Europe and Asia. She has 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren, who give her lots of practice to make up stories. She had her first book published in Japan but the ideas for her musical children's books began while living in Vienna, Austria. The city and its beautiful music were an inspiration. She called on her friend from Tokyo days, Ann Viola Seddon, to work with her. She has been involved in creative work all her life as a painter, an art director and a graphic artist. Watercolor painting and photography are her hobbies. She lives in Southampton, NY with her husband where she has taught ESL and continues to create children's books. Not everyone gets a chance to go to a live theater but it's possible to imagine going to a performance. I tried to write the ballet theater books so that children could get lost in a world of music and make-believe, where they would be active players in the miniature theaters. I love watching children playing with these books and using their imaginations just as I did when I was a child. I used to spend hours creating little books and plays and shadow boxes with cutouts, drawings and paint. I guess I still do. I wanted to introduce children to beautiful classical music and the stories of ballets. When I write these stories, I listen to the music that will accompany them. I have to pace the story with the music and be sure to give readers enough time to set up the stage and dancers as the tale unfolds. Since there's a CD with the book, I have to select one minute or so of a musical piece that really describes the action. It's difficult because I want to choose all of it but there's no room for everything on the CD or on the page in the book. When I hear the music again, on the radio or in the car, I remember the exact part of the story and I get a picture in my head of the dancers and the sets. I hope the same thing happens for children who play with the book. My friend and partner, Ann Viola Seddon, the illustrator of our books, lives in London so we work together via emails of notes, drawings and photos. We usually meet once a year and work for 2 weeks putting everything together. We set up easels and drape them with the fabrics and dolls that will be photographed for the front cover and inside panels. Then we bring everything to London where they are photographed. Three things you didn't know about me: 1. I'm double jointed. I can touch the tip of my elbows together behind my back. 2. I can count in 6 languages. 3. I hate butter.

Jennie Maizels

Author and illustrator of the novelty Things to Do Book.

Nick Maland

Illustrator of the 2003 V&A Illustration Award-winning You've Got Dragons.