Having helped raise funds for village libraries in Sri Lanka and Mexico, Rick Brooks of Madison has been a longtime supporter of literacy, social empowerment, and community development. It was fitting, then, that he would partner with his friend Todd Bol to create Little Free Library, Ltd, a non-profit whose mission is to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide. This creative community-building movement has had such appeal that there are now over 5,000 Little Free Libraries in 36 countries!
Author of The Elf Girl and The Spell Master, Markelle Grabo is currently putting the finishing touches on book three of her Young Adult fantasy fiction 
series, Journey into the Realm. Surrounded by a supportive cast of friends, family, and pets, she puts her feelings and experiences into everything she writes…with a little bit of magical embellishment. After growing up in Southeastern Wisconsin, Grabo now attends college in the windy city of Chicago to further her writing career. But despite the change in location, Wisconsin will always be her home.
Katherine Hannigan has worked as the education coordinator for a Head Start program and, most recently, as an assistant professor of art and design. She is the author of Ida B…and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster and (Possibly) Save the World, Emmaline and the Bunny, and True (…Sort Of). Ida B was a New York Times bestseller, a Parent’s Choice Gold Award winner, and appeared on more than 30 state award lists. Hannigan currently lives in Iowa with a bunch of cats and the occasional bunny or bird.
Sue Klopp is a children’s services librarian at the Pauline Haass Public Library in Sussex, Wisconsin. As part of the Waukesha County Kids’ Choice program, Klopp led several book discussion groups for children on the book The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angelberger. In this hands-on session, children will hear about the series of books by Tom Angelberger, and create their own Star Wars origami characters. May the force be with you!”
RaChelle Lisiecki, or Miss Licorice as she’s sometimes known, is a 2002 graduate of UW-Whitewater. She earned a degree in Elementary Education and has been actively substitute teaching for the past 5 years. She found an interesting way to put her passion for writing, her degree, and her love of children to use as a Children’s Story Performer. She recites and sings her original story to audiences while she manipulates props along a handmade set. She has been performing her story since November 2011. She has written many children’s stories is hoping to have her story, Where the Favorite Things Live, debut this fall.
JoAnn Early Macken is the author of Write a Poem Step by Step. Her newest picture books are Baby Says “Moo!, Waiting Out the
Storm, and Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move . Her poems appear in a number of magazines and anthologies, and she also has written more than 125 nonfiction books for young readers. Macken earned her M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She teaches writing at three Wisconsin colleges, and she speaks about poetry and writing to children and adults at schools, libraries, and conferences. Her web site is www.joannmacken.com
With a life-long passion for promoting environmental stewardship, Rebecca Mattano has teamed with another volunteer at the Wildlife in Need Center, Rebecca Seymour, 
to author Connecting with Wisconsin Wildlife. This book, as the authors say, “will inspire people of all ages to step outside and unearth a better understanding and appreciation for the wild wonders found right in their own backyards.” Mattano, educator and scientist as well as writer, is currently managing supervisor of the Waukesha County Recycling Center.
According to Jinn Nelson, she is a geek. She started writing when she was seven and has not stopped. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and three cats. Her 2012 debut novel, Fear the Hunted, is an adventure fantasy. Lately she has been writing stories about an inter-dimensional coffee shop. She said she wants to be a Ninja turtle when she grows up.
Deborah Elizabeth Posca and Zachary Addison Posca started writing their Tales from the Kingdome series when Deborah was 15 and Zachary was 13. The siblings’ love of reading, writing, and engaging in almost any type of creative activity together was what brought about the publication of their first novel in 2010. They are now writing their second novel, which will take readers on a thrilling journey from the Kingdome to the mysterious and exotic lands of the Empyre. The Poscas are strong advocates of reading: “The more we read, the more we learn, and the more we learn, the more ideas we have.”
Lake Country journalist Rebecca Seymour and her friend Rebecca Mattano recently approached the Wildlife in Need Center (WINC) with the idea of creating a book that could be used in conjunction with the wildlife rehabilitation center’s educational programs. Their beautiful book, Connecting With Wisconsin Wildlife, is now a reality, a helpful resource where “Readers of all ages will discover ways to connect with wildlife through hands-on projects that help plant the seeds of stewardship and a lifelong love for Wisconsin’s magnificent natural legacy.”
This past spring author Amy Timberlake received a lot of press for the book One Came Home. She was interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio and the book was re
viewed very favorably in The Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, The Atlantic Wire and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She won the Golden Kite Award for her picture book The Dirty Cowboy. Her first novel for children, That Girl Lucy Moon, was named a Bank Street Best Children’s Book, an Amelia Bloomer Book, and the winner of the Friends of American Writers Literary Award. Timberlake has worked as a book reviewer, columnist, and children’s bookseller. Visit her on the Web at www.amytimberlake.com.