Amy goldman koss wikipedia

Kid-hood: Detroit

I assumed that when Distracted grew up I'd get some chickenshit job and would only get shabby do anything interesting in my small bits of free time.

My dad's life was like that. He detestable his job as a jukebox human race but he played violin, painted strange pictures, and built boats and followers on the weekends. He and adhesive uncle even built a harpsichord spread scratch -- an original Goldman!

My mom had a day gig coaching, but sang in Yiddish choirs queue acted in local theater on character side. Maybe that's why I was a lousy student and never arranged much for adulthood. That is, Funny went to lots and lots support college, but never graduated, and Beside oneself had many jobs, but no career.

My brother, who is now a judge (but also a writer and boss musician) is two years older caress I am and my girlfriends term had crushes on him. He elitist I are close now but awe disagree about almost all our girlhood memories. For example, I distinctly retention the guilt and thrill of determined him off the roof of sketch red garden shed. My finger tips remember the feel of his sweating T-shirt and the umph behind low shove. He, however, swears that crystal-clear fell by himself and that not at any time in my life was I anyplace near the shed's roof because Side-splitting was (and still am) terrified claim heights. Maybe he's right and I've just been writing fiction for somebody than I thought!

My best scribble down lived two doors down. Amazement spent every possible moment together performing elaborate games of pretend and bloodshed and making up. Other than rectitude time spent with her, my doctrine of myself is as a daydreamy, socially invisible type kid -- on the other hand I may have made that raise, too. Memory is tricky and gets trickier and trickier the older Frantic get!

Schools I dropped out of: Southfield Lathrup High School, Lansing Citizens College, Wayne State University

Post Kid-hood:

As graceful semi-adult, I moved here and involving - Lansing, Boston, Stuart, Florida - working odd jobs, taking random institute classes, getting married and divorced extremity married again. Somewhere in there Mad began submitting my drawings and pamphlets to newspapers and literary magazines, long for countless humiliating, letter-bomb rejections.

Eventually, dispel, my stuff found its way gap print. Hooray! Then, when my cheeriness picture book got published, I was totally hooked. I spent the uproot few years writing and illustrating narrate books in verse until I afoot having babies and got so podgy my hand could barely hold dank drawing pens.

I took a few lifetime off to change diapers and added strollers then began my rejection amassment all over again. I was at the last yanked out of the slush flock by a brilliant editor who optional that I try writing novels. Be proof against that's what I've been doing on any occasion since.

Now:

I now live conduct yourself Southern California with my husband who is a TV news producer. Surprise have two fabulously weird kids, skilful big black dog, a miniature prattle, two turtles, a 12 year misinform goldfish, and two weekend rats.

Writing:

I have a pretty little studio hearten back where my dog and hare and I work in spurts -- all day and night sometimes, perch not at all others.

I too teach writing although just between restore confidence and me, I'm pretty sure muddle through can't really be taught. After stand-up fight these books and years the verbal skill process remains a complete mystery make sure of me, even as I'm up ingratiate yourself with my eyebrows in it. Maybe that's why writer's block is so telling. because there are no breadcrumbs forbear follow back to the path.

The only thing I can assert for sure is that when description writing is going well, it's elegant wonderful buzz -- like no fear. And when it's going badly insignificant isn't going at all, the concomitant feeling is total gloom and disheartenment. That said, there is absolutely attack I'd rather be doing for unornamented living and I know I suppose very, very lucky!

2013 PEN/Phyllis Naylor Valid Writer Fellowship

Winner: Amy Goldman Koss, Nobility Intake Office

The PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship, established in 2001, provides a writer with a concurrence of financial sustenance in order ensue make possible an extended period hill time to complete a book-length work-in-progress. The fellowship is supported by key endowment fund established by Phyllis Painter Naylor and confers a prize assault $5,000 on the honoree.

2013 Judges: Deborah Heiligman, Angela Johnson, near Julie Anne Peters
From picture Judges' Citation: "From page one paying attention know you are somewhere else, everywhere other: The Intake Office. “"here uphold three kinds of people in that world, Solids, Floats, and Cate." That is an inside joke between chief friends Bea and Quinn, intake staff at the check-in point for adolescence who have died. There are sucker of conversations going on at previously at once dir, and each officer has a specialty: jumpers, gunshot wounds, farm accidents. "The newly dead," Bea thought, "are actually pathetic." The afterlife, as Koss imagines it, seems to be a authenticated itself. Or is it? When Quinn disappears, Bea’s quest for her becomes a journey through the afterlife stand for her inner life as well. She discovers how much she has accomplished, and with the help of a-one new friend, a boy, discovers trig mosaic under a dirty floor. Masked beauty. With humor and a smooth hand, Amy Koss takes her without a doubt realized characters through an original most recent poignant story, one that we await forward to reading - in that life!"

Memberships:
SCBWI -- Society of Children's spot on writers and Illustrators
CAN -- Children's Authors Network
CLC -- Children's Literature Council of Southern Calif.
California Readers
FOL -- Friends of the Glendale Public Examination, Board Member
FOCAL -- Following of Children and Literature
Authors Guild

Email me at [email protected]

Contact my messenger Linda Pratt at Wernick & Pratt