Tracy Maurer

I love to write. I've been fortunate to publish more than 100 titles -- everything from A-B-C books for pre-K and kindergarten students to books on crafts, sports cars, extreme sports, cheerleading, and other high-interest topics for middle grade and older readers. Even before the ink dries on one book, I'm writing something else for children or young adults. Some books, such as STORM CODES, were inspired by people in my life (my grandfather, Harvey C. Almstedt, for instance, who was a captain on the Great Lakes). A fun fact might spark a story for me, which is how I started researching for my book JOHN DEERE, THAT'S WHO! (Henry Holt, 2017). Did you know that John Deere didn't invent the tractor? See? That's fun information! Other times, a news article will send me on a research and writing adventure. That's what happened with my forthcoming book NOAH WEBSTER'S FIGHTING WORDS (Millbrook, 2017). A newspaper ran a story about how Noah was the last man to write an entire dictionary by himself, and I just had to know more! Over the years, I've won several awards and recognition for my books, including the Amazon.com Nonfiction Work-In-Progress Grant from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators; Northeastern Minnesota Book Award Children's Literature Honor; Jeanette Fair Educators Award; ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award Finalist; Midwest Booksellers Midwest Favorite; and Mom's Choice Award for Historical Fiction. My writing has even been used as examples in books about teaching writing. Writing and reading are my two favorite things to do. And I read a lot about writing. I earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Before that (long before that), I graduated from the School of Journalism at the University of Minnesota. I never want to stop learning. That's one of the reasons I like to write nonfiction. I'd never have known about surfing or monster trucks, if it weren't for my writing projects. Almost as much as I like to write, I like to visit with readers and writers to talk about working with words. If your school, library or group would like to arrange a presentation, please see my website at TracyMaurerWriter.com for contact information. Send me an e-mail. Because I'd love to write back!