Hallie Durand

I grew up in the farm country of upstate New York, at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains--there was lots of blackberry picking, pigs and chickens, cats and kittens, bikes, bees, homemade bread-and-butter pickles, sweet corn, and pure maple syrup. Lots of wood-stacking and lawn-mowing, too. My sisters and I (and later my brother) spent a lot of time making tiny campfires in the driveway and singing loudly in the hay barn. I still think of myself as a country girl in New York City, where I headed straight after college. Many years have passed and I'm still in love with the place--all these millions of people living together in relative peace--the sound and the stink and the beauty and the buildings--it's where I feel most myself. Under pen name Hallie Durand, I've published the Dessert First Trilogy, illustrated by Christine Davenier, the award-winning Mitchell Goes series, illustrated by Tony Fucile, as well as Catch That Cookie, illustrated by David Small . . . And in 2017 I started writing under my given name, Holly M. McGhee, publishing the NYT bestselling picture book Come with Me, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre, an E.B.White Readaloud Finalist, and also my debut middle-grade novel, Matylda, Bright & Tender, an Amazon, Bank Street, and ABC Best Book of the year. I divide my time between New York City, where I help bring books I love into the world as a literary agent, and Maplewood, New Jersey. You can visit me at hollymcghee.com. You can find me on Insta, Twitter, or FB @hollymmcghee.