Children’s Writer

Buried in a box somewhere under my stairs is the first picture book I wrote. The uneven pages are construction paper self illustrated with butterflies. The whole thing is held together with staples. It’s terrible, but endearing. I was 6. My dream of becoming an author started around the time I learned to string letters together to make words. I’ve always written for myself, but it took me a while to discover what I enjoy writing most – kid lit. After I finally pried off the bony fingers of anxiety and adopted a growth mindset, I decided to do more than dream. Gasp – now I query too.

I primarily write picture books, but am currently working on a middle grade fiction as well. My writing tends to be lyrical and more heartfelt than funny (I wish I were a really funny person). I write what feels right, so my manuscripts span fiction and nonfiction and reflect my different interests.

I grew up running barefoot in Fort Worth, Texas and found my way to a degree in writing from Baylor University. I paid my rent as a marketing coordinator for a homebuilder at first, but found myself suffocating from lack of passion. I joined Teach For America so I could get my teaching certification and work with kids. While I have mixed feelings about Teach For America, I loved teaching English and special education. I went on to get a masters degree in education from Southern Methodist University. Later, my husband and I moved to Germany for two years, where I taught business professional English and enjoyed traveling as much as possible. When we moved home, I went back to teaching kids. After my first child was born, I chose to become a stay-at-home mom and try to soak in the fleeting magic of childhood (which I now know is not all good magic. There’s some dark magic mixed in there too. But good always wins).

Opportunity brought my family to Chicago, so now I relish the summers and survive the winters with my husband, two small children, and huge, goofy golden retriever. When I have a moment without kids crawling up my limbs or demanding snacks, I’m doing all the want-to-be-published-writer things: writing, reading, researching, querying, basking in self pity and judgement (I’m joking. See, I told you I’m not funny), revising, staring at walls, and scrolling Twitter. For non-writer fun, I enjoy spending time with my family, painting, sewing, cooking, exploring, and sometimes binge-watching shows like Ted Lasso or Succession.

That’s me.

Fun update: I received honorable mention in the 50 Precious Words (2023) competition! I am making progress one step at a time!

Feel free to connect with me at WhitneyMyersWrites@whitneytmyers, on twitter @Whitney_T_Myers, or on instagram at @whitneymyerswrites

You can also connect with me through SCBWI and 12×12