Cynthea Liu

Cynthea Liu writes for young people of all ages, from the very little all the way to teens. For Disney and Marvel, her latest titles include chapter books for Disney and Marvel for feature film adaptations like TURNING RED, and SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. She has also written picture books, Little Golden Books, picture story books, and photo books for Disney/Marvel properties that are loved by millions of kids throughout the world. Her books also include original extension stories such as THE PANDA IN YOU, MULAN'S PERFECT PRESENT, and TIANA'S FRIENDSHIP FIX-UP. Her original board books include GUS LOVES CINDERELLA, FLOUNDER LOVES ARIEL, and CHIP LOVES BELLE. From time to time, Cynthea also ghostwrites for other bestselling Disney properties. Cynthea has also authored works for other major trade publishers including THE DARE (originally published by Penguin Random as PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE), a humorous mystery novel for grades 4-7, which was an Oklahoma Book Award Winner and an APALA Selection. For the younger set, Cynthea's picture book BIKE ON, BEAR! (Simon & Schuster) is an Illinois Reads title and Oklahoma Book Award Winner. Both books have been translated into multiple languages. Her book Wooby & Peep was a Barnes & Noble Summer Selection, and her young adult novel THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA was part of Speaks' bestselling teen S.A.S.S. (Students Across the Seven Seas) series. Cynthea has also published her WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS: A CRASH COURSE (updated in 2023) to help others ramp up quickly on the business of writing for children and teens. Based in Illinois, Cynthea has spoken to a number of schools in the state and across the country. She has also been a guest speaker for national conferences organized by the American Library Association, American Association of School Librarians, Association for Library Services to Children, and the Young Adult Library Services Association, among others. In addition, Cynthea has had the opportunity to speak locally and regionally for the Illinois School Media Library Association, the Illinois Reading Council, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Chicago Teacher-Librarians Association. Cynthea is a frequent guest author for local family literacy nights, young author conferences, and local colleges and universities. In adidtion to her work with other publishers, Cynthea enjoys teaching others the ins and outs of children's and teen book publishing as a book coach, teacher, and publishing consultant. Cynthea Liu spent her formative years in Oklahoma and Texas where she was a Whiz Quiz member, an Academic Decathloner, and a spelling bee champion. (Yes, she was very popular.) After attending college on the East coast, she worked at a corporate job where she mastered PowerPoint and racked up thousands of frequent flyer miles. Eventually, she traded in her suit for sweats to do the fun stuff–writing for children. To learn more about Cynthea and her books, please visit her author website at www.writingforchildrenandteens.com.