Marianne Olson Mitchell

Once upon a time I was a teacher with assignments ranging from first grade to college level. Those were fun jobs but also lots of work. When I started writing stories for children I discovered a new profession and a new passion. As a bonus, I now have a good excuse not to be a total grown-up. Over the years I’ve been fortunate to publish nine books and about two hundred stories and articles in children’s magazines such as Highlights for Children and Highlights High Five.

My picture books include Maya Moon (a Mexican folktale), Joe Cinders (a Cinder-fella tale), and Gullywasher Gulch (a tall tale). As an Arizona native, I love using the west as a background in my stories. Finding Zola is a mystery set in southern Arizona near Tucson. A second mystery, Firebug, is set among the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona. My anthology, Windows of Gold, offers a variety of short stories: adventure, mystery, animals, fantasy, and folktales. Most of these stories were originally published in Highlights for Children. I’ve also dug into my own family history for story material. My latest project, A Promise Made, is a young adult novel inspired by a long, lost great auntie with a mysterious past. It’s set in the mining town of Silver Plume, Colorado in 1884.

Although I now write full time, I still enjoy coming to schools and talking to kids about books and writing.