Marc Colagiovanni

My childhood consisted of all things Walt Disney, The Beatles, and Dr. Seuss, so I guess it was inevitable that I would end up doing something creative in my life. My road to the inevitable, however, was a long and winding one. After I graduated from the University of Vermont in 1996, I decided to attend Roger Williams Law School. I passed the bar in 2001 and my legal career was off-and-running; my dream of becoming a writer, however, took a seat. My wife and I and our three daughters live in Cranston, Rhode Island where I was born and raised. My family is the inspiration for everything that I do...they are the absolute joy of my life. And after the birth of my first child in 2010, a spark was lit and I decided to dust off my dream and finally pursue my goal of becoming a published children's book author. I told myself-I can live with not succeeding, but I can't live with not trying. Plus, I figured-how hard could it be? Well, it didn't take long to learn the answer...very hard! After six years of attending seminars, reading hundreds of picture books, writing, sending out manuscripts, and getting rejected (by everyone), the universe rewarded my perseverance in 2016 with a serendipitous introduction to NY Times Bestselling author/illustrator, Peter H. Reynolds! Peter, very graciously, agreed to read a manuscript I had been working on called The Reflection in Me-and fortunately for me, he loved it! We decided to utilize the talented services of Peter's media company, FableVision, and turn my manuscript into an animated film. The film was entered into film festivals worldwide and became award winning. We then released it on YouTube where it gathered more attention worldwide; to date, the film has been seen by over 1.5 million people. All this attention caught the eye of Scholastic and that's when my dream became a reality. Through the incredible representation of Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties, Scholastic bought the rights to The Reflection in Me. During a zoom meeting with the wonderful people at Scholastic, I was asked if I had been working on anything else. I informed them that I had been working on a few stories, but there was one in particular that I liked...Go Left (the title was then changed to When Things Aren't Going Right, Go Left). Shortly thereafter, Scholastic bought the rights to Go Left! And ever since then-I've been on the most fantastic journey of my life! I hope you enjoy my books! I write for children because they are the most important audience to write for. As adults, it is our responsibility to teach and guide the future generations whenever we get the opportunity. I feel blessed that I have been given this opportunity through the art of storytelling. My goal is to write stories that both children and adults can connect to with the hopes of initiating conversations between the two. And if those conversations can result in a child being enlightened or finding peace in some way, then I'll know that I have put something worthwhile into the world. For more information, visit my website at www.marccolagiovanni.com.