Joan Bauer

Joan Bauer is a NY Times Best-selling author, screenwriter, songwriter, and speaker. Her stories—told with hope, humor, and relevancy—have won numerous awards, among them The LA Times Book Prize, The Newbery Honor Award, The Chicago Tribune Literary Book Prize, three Christopher Awards, and the Golden Kite Award. The New York Times Book Review wrote, “It’s hard to imagine… coming across a novel by Joan Bauer and not feeling at least a little bit better about the world.”

Joan has taught writing workshops around the world. Through the US State Department’s Professional Speakers Program she was a cultural ambassador to Croatia and Kazakhstan. In a rare diplomatic collaboration, the US State Department co-sponsored the Russian language edition of her novel Hope Was Here. The book is now being adapted as a film through an international partnership with Director Bertha Bay Sa Pan’s Slew Pictures and The Voice Creative in Taiwan. Bauer is the screenwriter.

A long-time Brooklynite, Bauer now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her husband and their intrepid wheaten terrier.