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Shelley Pearsall is the author of seven books for middle grade and teen readers.  Her inspiring and thought-provoking novels are used in classrooms worldwide, and her author visits have reached a quarter-million students.  She is represented by literary agent Steven Malk of Writer's House.

 

Prior to becoming a full-time author, Shelley was a classroom teacher and a museum educator creating interactive programs and museum theater events. She has a B.A. from The College of Wooster and M. Ed. from John Carroll University.

 

Shelley’s first book, Trouble Don’t Last, was published in 2002 and received the prestigious Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. All of the Above (Hachette Book Group) and The Seventh Most Important Thing (Penguin Random House) were both named American Library Association Notable Children's Books of the year.

 

Other honors for her books include: Best Children's Books of the Year, Top 10 Historical Fiction, Top 10 First Novels, Top 10 Black History Bests, BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, ALSC Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Notable Social Studies Trade Book, Amazon Book of the Month pick, Editor's Choice, New York Public Library Top 100, Junior Library Guild, ILA Teachers' Choice, Mathical Honor Book, Ohioana Award, and reading award list nominations across the US.  

 

Shelley's novels have also been translated into Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Turkish for international editions. She has presented virtual programs in Italy, Australia, Canada, and Turkey as well as in schools throughout the US.

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Originally from Ohio, Shelley and her British husband Mike now divide their time between Ohio and southwest Scotland where they live in a renovated 200-year old stone barn. When Shelley isn't writing, she loves to talk to the local sheep and take long walks on the Scottish coast looking for treasures. (With coffee and scones afterward, of course.)