Hollins Faculty and Visitor Works Summer 2020

Mary Jane Begin is a professor at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and an award-winning illustrator and author. She has taught at RISD for over twenty years and also serves as the Internship + Professional Development Advisor for the Illustration department. Mary Jane is an award-winning illustrator and author known in particular for her acclaimed picture books, Little Mouse's Painting, Before I Go to Sleep, and A Mouse Told His Mother. Mary Jane's latest picture book is My Little Pony: The Dragons on Dazzle Island, published by Little Brown Books.

Dhonielle Clayton is the New York Times bestselling author of The Belles series, the co-author of the Tiny Pretty Things series and the forthcoming The Rumor Game, and the author of the forthcoming MG fantasy series, The Marvellers. Her short stories have been included in the following anthologies: The Radical Element edited by Jessica Spotswood, Unbrokenedited by Marieke Nijkamp, Met Cute: Some People Are Destined To Meet, Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi, and Foreshadow edited by Nova Ren Suma and Emily X.R. Pan. She hails from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side and earned an M.A. in children’s Literature from Hollins University and an M.F.A. in writing for children at the New School. Dhonielle taught secondary school for several years, and is a former elementary and middle school librarian. She is COO of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books, and cofounder of CAKE Literary, a creative kitchen whipping up decadent—and decidedly diverse—literary confections for middle grade, young adult, and women’s fiction readers. 

Elizabeth (aka "e") is an award-winning author, illustrator, teacher, blogger, and speaker (including TED). She has over two-dozen books to her credit, including her debut novel, A Bird on Water Street, winner of 13 literary awards, including Georgia Author of the Year. With New York Times Best-selling author Jane Yolen, e recently published Merbaby's Lullaby in 2019 and their collaboration will continue with the forthcoming book On Eagle Cove. e has a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Georgia, an MFA in Illustration (with Distinction) from the University of Edinburgh, and is currently a PhD Researcher in Children's Literature at the University of Glasgow (Scotland) finishing her dissertation (called a thesis on the other side of the pond) titled "Tricksters, Witches, and Warriors: Rewriting a Patriarchal Narrative in Children's Fantasy Literature". She is currently Associate Professor of Illustration at Winthrop University in South Carolina. In the summers she travels to Roanoke, Virginia where she is Visiting Associate Professor at Hollins University in the MFA in Writing and Illustrating Children's Books low-residency program.

Lisa Rowe Fraustino grew up in rural Maine, where she wrote her first story on the toilet seat lid when she was three (in orange crayon). She has been writing ever since on anything handy. For young readers, she has published four novels, including I Walk in Dread for the Dear America Series; three anthologies of young adult short stories; and a picture book, The Hickory Chair, illustrated magnificently by Benny Andrews. Her middle-grade novel The Hole in the Wall won the 2010 Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature. Most recently, she edited with Karen Coats. Lisa is currently the Director of the Graduate Programs in Children’s Literature at Hollins.

John Steven Gurney is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel Fuzzy Baseball and the picture book Dinosaur Train. He has illustrated over 140 chapter books, including the A to Z Mysteries, the Bailey School Kids, and the Calendar Mysteries series. He has illustrated board games, advertising, posters, puzzles, and a shopping bag for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. John has worked as a caricature artist from Atlantic City to Las Vegas, and on the streets of New York City, but primarily in New England. John loves visiting schools to talk about illustration. Since 2002 he has visited schools in 31 different states, and five countries. John lives in Brattleboro, Vermont with his wife Kathie. He has used more than 40 people from his town to pose as characters for his books.

Christopher Denise is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and visual development artist. His first book, a retelling of the Russian folktale The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, was pronounced “a stunning debut” by Publishers Weekly. Since then, Chris has illustrated more than twenty-five books for children, including Firefly Hollow by Alison McGhee; Following Grandfather by Rosemary Wells; Oliver Finds His Way by Phyllis Root; Baking Day at Grandma's by his wife, Anika Denise; and some in Brian Jacques’ acclaimed Redwall series. His books have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list and have been recognized by Bank Street College of Education, Parents’ Choice Foundation, and the Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition. Christopher Denise lives in Rhode Island with his family.

Claudia Mills has pursued three different careers: she’s been a tenured professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder, working in the area of ethics and political philosophy; she’s a children’s literature scholar, publishing articles on Eleanor Estes, Maud Hart Lovelace, Betty MacDonald, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Rosamund du Jardin; and she’s the author of over 50 books for young readers, including the new Franklin School Friends chapter book series from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Her Intro to Ethics class incorporates children’s literature; her scholarly work on children’s literature often explores ethical and philosophical themes, culminating in editing the collection Ethics and Children’s Literature (Ashgate 2014); and the children in her novels struggle with issues of moral growth and personal identity. Her most recent publications are Nixie Ness, Cooking Star (2019) and Vera Vance, Comics Star (2020.

Phillips is professor of English at Kansas State University, where she teaches courses in children’s and adolescent literature, including courses in illustration and adaptation. She has published and presented on illustrations and artists’ interpretations of works such as The Secret Garden, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Wilder’s Little House series, Frindle, and other works. She has co-edited several books about Louisa May Alcott with Gregory Eiselein, and they were the co-hosts of Little Women 150, a blog commemorating the sesquicentennial of Little Women. With Miranda Green-Barteet, Anne has co-edited Reconsidering Laura Ingalls Wilder: Little House and Beyond (2019).

Sullivan is emeritus professor of English from East Carolina University. He is a full member of the Welsh Academy, author of Heinlein’s Juvenile Novels: A Cultural Dictionary, Fenian Diary: Denis B. Cashman on Board the Hougoumont, 1867-1868, and Welsh Celtic Myth in Modern Fantasy. He is also editor of numerous books including The Mabinogi: A Book of Essays, Science Fiction for Young Readers, and Young Adult Science Fiction. In 2000, Sullivan was named a Distinguished Professor for Teaching at East Carolina University; in 2001 he received an East Carolina University Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research and was awarded a Distinguished Research Professorship; in 2003, he was named Harriot College Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences; and in 2008 he was a senior Fulbright teaching fellow in Hungary.

Ashley Wolff is the author and/or illustrator of over 55 children’s picture books including I Love My Mommy Because and I Love My Daddy Because, Stella and Roy Go Camping, Me Baby, You Baby, The Wild Little Horse, Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?, I Call My Grandma Nana and the beloved Miss Bindergarten Series. Her books have won numerous state and national awards.