Dear Bully

KURTIS SCALETTA was born in Louisiana and grew up in New Mexico, North Dakota, England, Liberia, Brazil, and a few other places. His books for young readers include Mudville, which was an ALA Booklist “Top 10 Sports Books for Youth”; Mamba Point, which Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review, called an “expertly voiced narrative . . . tinted with magical realism that is by turns scary and very funny”; and The Tanglewood Terror. Kurtis now lives in Minneapolis with his wife, their son, and several cats. To learn more about him and his books, visit him online at www.kurtisscaletta.com.

MELISSA SCHORR is the author of Goy Crazy, a romantic comedy about interfaith dating that was named a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. A graduate of the Bronx High School of Science and Northwestern University, Melissa was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. She currently works and lives as a journalist outside Boston with her two daughters, her husband, and their terrier, Bailey. Visit her online at www.melissaschorr.com.

LISA SCHROEDER is a native Oregonian and lives there still with her husband and two sons. She is the author of three novels in verse for young adults: I Heart You, You Haunt Me; Far from You; and Chasing Brooklyn. Visit her online at www.lisaschroederbooks.com.

JON SCIESZKA was born in Flint, Michigan, on September 8, 1954. He grew up with five brothers, has the same birthday as Peter Sellers and the Virgin Mary, and has a sneaking suspicion that the characters in his Dick and Jane reader were not of this world. Those plain facts, plus his elementary school principal dad, Louis; his registered nurse mom, Shirley; Mad magazine; four years of premed undergrad; The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show; an MFA in fiction from Columbia University; Robert Benchley; five years of painting apartments in New York City; his lovely wife, Jeri Hansen, who introduced him to Molly Leach and Lane Smith; Green Eggs and Ham; his teenage daughter, Casey, and almost teenage son, Jake; ten years of teaching a little bit of everything from first grade to eighth grade; and the last twenty years of living in Brooklyn . . . are just some of Jon’s answers to the questions “Where do you get your ideas?” and/or “How did you become a writer?” Visit him online at www.jsworldwide.com.

KIERAN SCOTT is the author of the She’s So Dead to Us trilogy, the Non-Blonde Cheerleader trilogy, and Geek Magnet. In her spare time, Kieran writes the New York Times bestselling Private and Privilege series under the pseudonym Kate Brian, and has written several other novels under that name. Kieran has lived in New Jersey all her life (but looks nothing like Snooki), and graduated from Rutgers University with honors. Kieran loves to bake, read YA, watch football (Go Giants!), take Pilates classes, and ride her bike with her husband and son. Also, she’s kind of obsessed with TV. You can find out more online at www.kieranscott.net, or follow her on Twitter @kieranscott.

COURTNEY SHEINMEL, author of My So-Called Family, Positively, and Sincerely, grew up in California and New York. She is a graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University and Fordham University School of Law. Visit her online at www.courtneysheinmel.com.

MELODYE SHORE vowed in third grade that she would grow up to be the kind of teacher she wished she’d had. For much of her professional life, she did just that. As a teacher of English, reading, and other subjects, she worked primarily with underprepared and disadvantaged students. And as president of the National Association of Developmental Education (NADE), she helped make them visible to a broader audience across the United States and in other countries. Her current book project chronicles an itinerant childhood, in which Melodye and her family crisscrossed the country in a cramped sedan, holding revival meetings wherever they landed. While she still enjoys traveling, Melodye feels most at home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband. Visit her online at www.melodyeshore.com.

JANNI LEE SIMNER has published three books for teens: Bones of Faerie, its sequel, Faerie Winter, and Thief Eyes. She is also the author of four books for younger readers and more than 30 short stories. Visit her online at www.simner.com.