Lesléa Newman has created 85 books for readers of all ages, including the novel-in-verse, October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard; the fully illustrated poetic biography, Always Matt: A Tribute to Matthew Shepard; a pair of memoirs-in-verse, I Carry My Mother and I Wish My Father; the short story collection, A Letter to Harvey Milk; the middle-grade novel, Hachiko Waits; and the children’s books, Sparkle Boy; The Babka Sisters; The Fairest in the Land; The Boy Who Cried Fabulous; A Fire Engine for Ruthie; Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed; Welcomeing Elijah: A Passover Tale With A Tail; and Heather Has Two Mommies. Her literary awards include poetry fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation; two National Jewish Book Awards; two American Library Association Stonewall Honors; the Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award; the Golden Crown Literary Society Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award; the Matthew Shepard Foundation Making a Difference Award; and the Massachusetts Book Award. Her books have been translated into Chinese, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Turkish, and Swedish. From 2008 – 2010, she served as the poet laureate of Northampton, MA. Currently she teaches at the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing.