Author Bio
Carrie Finison began her literary career at the age of seven with an idea, a box of markers, and her father’s typewriter. She has been writing off and on ever since, though she has (somewhat regretfully) traded in the typewriter for a laptop. She is the author of Dozens of Doughnuts (Putnam, 2020), a Junior Library Guild selection; and Don’t Hug Doug (Putnam, 2021), an ALA Notable Children’s Book, which received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Her most recent picture books are Lulu & Zoey: A Sister Story (Running Press Kids, 2022), and Hurry, Little Tortoise, Time for School! (Random House Studio, 2022). She also writes for children's magazines including Babybug, Ladybug, High Five, and Highlights. When she’s not writing, Carrie enjoys reading mystery novels, trying new recipes, and curling up on the couch for family movie nights. She lives outside Boston with her husband, son, daughter, and two cats who permit her to write in their cozy attic office. Find her online at www.carriefinison.com or follow her on Twitter or Instagram @CarrieFinison.
Awards
• 2014 Barbara Karlin picture book Work-in-Progress grant from SCBWI.
• 2015 Peg Davol picture book scholarship from New England SCBWI.
More About Me...
I’ve always loved to read and knew I wanted to find a way to work with words. For about 15 years, I worked in educational publishing first as an editor and content writer and then as a producer of educational software products at Tom Snyder Productions/ Scholastic. These exciting, creative jobs involved a lot of writing for both students and teachers, but they left me with little creative energy for my own writing.
Like many parents, my real writing journey began when my son was born and I started reading to him. I think I looked forward to our library trips or a new magazine arriving in the mail almost more than he did. As I was reading, I’d think to myself, “I could write this.” And so I tried and found out that…I couldn’t! At least, not without a lot of practice. But I committed myself to practicing as much as I could, took some classes, read some books, and got brave enough to submit some of my work. I also found many wonderful communities of writers including SCBWI, the Writer's Loft, The Poets' Garage, 12x12, KidLit411, and more. Writing can be solitary, so it's great to be a part of these supportive groups.
For now, I mostly write picture books, poetry, and short stories, with a middle grade plot or two burbling around in my brain.