Biography Valiska Gregory
About the Author
Valiska Gregory is an award-winning poet and children's book author whose work has been translated into seven languages, received Parents' Choice Awards, been chosen for the American Booksellers' Pick of the Lists, and been featured on PBS and national television. Reference source Something About the Author calls her a "star in the children's literature scene."
According to reviewers, Ms. Gregory’s work ranges from picture and chapter books full of “kid pleasing humor and plenty of action” to poignant books for all ages that are “told with a contagious sense of wonder.” Her writing has been called “shining and magical” with “language and phrasing . . . as pleasing to the ear as the story is to the heart.”
Illustration ©Bruce Degen
Professional Bio
Ms. Gregory has an M.A. from the University of Chicago and has taught every grade from kindergarten to seniors in college. She received a grant for "artistic excellence and achievements" from the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, and her poetry manuscripts (for adults) are housed in the rare book room at the University of Wisconsin with the Juniper Press collection.
Ms. Gregory was Writer-in-residence at Butler University and the founding director of the Butler Children's Literature Conference. She is a member of The Authors Guild and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Ms. Gregory also writes for Publishers Weekly and enjoys speaking at schools, libraries, and conferences across the country. She is represented by agent Tracey Adams at Adams Literary.
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Personal Bio
When she was four years old, Valiska talked the principal into letting her go to kindergarten a year early because she couldn’t wait to learn how to read. She has been happily reading and writing ever since. She took a brief detour in second grade intending to be a tap dancer, but fortunately for the world of dance, by third grade she had changed her mind. Sometimes, however, her characters do insist on tap dancing in public.
Valiska was born and grew up in an immigrant neighborhood in Chicago. She has two grown daughters and lives with her husband, Dr. Marshall Gregory, Ice Professor of English at Butler University in Indianapolis. Her eldest daughter is a Victorian literature professor and is married to a playwright and novelist; they have one bonny daughter. Her youngest daughter is a two-time Emmy award winner for her PBS television show for children, and is currently a producer/writer/director at Nickelodeon; she is married to a businessman and they have one charming son.
