I wasn't born in a log cabin, although I do come from the Land of Lincoln--Illinois. I grew up in Chicago with five brothers and sisters and one dog, Snowball. I loved to read, but had absolutely no inkling that I could grow up to be a writer. I thought all writers had triple names, like my favorite, Maud Hart Lovelace, and that they had entire books just waiting in their heads and simply wrote them down, lickety-split.

          I always knew I wanted to work with children, so I got a B.A. in education from Chicago Teacher's College. After graduation, I moved to New York City. My great good fortune came when I met Ezra Jack Keats (author-artist of THE SNOWY DAY), who told me about an editorial assistant's opening in the children's book department of Harper & Row. I was hired, and for ten years I worked with two of the most brilliant editors in publishing: Ursula Nordstrom and Charlotte Zolotow.

          After  becoming a junior editor, I soon had the great pleasure of discovering new talent: I did Bruce Degan's first book, AUNT POSSOM AND THE PUMPKIN MAN, Myron Levoy's classic, ALAN AND NAOMI, and  I also worked with Lillian Hoban on her first Arthur books.

          It was Charlotte Zolotow who urged me to write my own stories, and my first book BABY (later titled BABY, COME OUT!) was published in 1972. Since then I've written many many books, but no thrill has ever matched that moment when I became a writer.

           Because I was such a late bloomer, I am always eager to help children recognize and appreciate their gifts and begin using them NOW. When I speak at schools, I show children my messy manuscripts, the artist's many sketches, and talk about how much stubbornness and good humor it takes to accomplish anything in life, including writing.

          I also mentor adult writers in Eastern Europe through the Open Society Program of the George Soros Foundation. So far, I have taught writers and artists in  Moscow, Budapest, and Tirana, Albania.

          And, of course, I'm still writing. Two new picture books are scheduled for publication by Dutton, to be illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky and Leonid Gore.

          I hope you enjoy this web site. I've tried to fill it with as much  information as I can about my books--how I got the ideas for each book, how many revisions I did, and what some of the artists' sketches look like. I also offer information about the programs I present for adults and children at public and religious schools, libraries, and young writers' conferences.

Fran is a member of the following professional organizations:

• Co-chair with Susan Kuklin of the Children's/Young Adult Book Committee of
  PEN AMERICAN CENTER
• Authors Guild and Authors League of America
• Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

If you have any questions or just want to write to me, I'm here:  franm@nyc.rr.com 

Enjoy!