In this book from the #1 New York Times bestselling series, learn how this vibrant Black neighborhood in upper Manhattan became home to the leading Black writers, artists, and musicians of the 1920s and 1930s. Pro Tip: Her first name rhymes with Capri! In addition to public speaking, Sherri offers creativity courses a member of the Two Trees Writers’ Collaborative and the founder of Story Forest, a liminal space where writers follow the old tales to find their own path. Sherri holds a certificate in the Art of Archetypal Fairy Tale Analysis from the Assisi Institute, and certificates in Applied Mythology and Enchantivism-a form of “activism for introverts” that uses deep storytelling, mythology, dreams and the environment to enact positive change in the world- from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She has also taught creative writing at Goddard College, and was the 2021 Mina Hohenburg Darden Visiting Professor at Old Dominion University. Highlights included working in stop-motion animation on Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!, and three years at Disney TV Animation, helping to create stories for animated home video projects.Ĭurrently, Sherri teaches in the MFA in Children’s Writing Program at Hamline University. She has worked in film, animation, comic books, construction, and at a monster factory.

Sherri also writes graphic novels and comics, including Bart Simpson Comics, Wonder Woman, and James Cameron’s Avatar.īorn in Chicago, IL, she has lived on all three coasts (West, East and Lake Michigan!). Her novels appear on multiple state reading lists and have been named Amelia Bloomer, Junior Library Guild, Children’s Book Council, Southern California Independent Booksellers Award, and American Library Association Best Books for Young People selections. Smith is the author of award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for young people including the 2021 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award winner, The Blossom and the Firefly, and the California Book Awards Gold Medalist, Flygirl.

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith