E. E. Duncan is an elementary school teacher in Denver Public Schools, with a specialty in gifted and talented education. She and her husband Robert have three young adult children, Katherine, Alexander and Christopher, as well as two cats. Growing up in Colorado, she learned to appreciate the beauty of the state and the individuals who contributed to its history. She enjoys reading, writing, traveling, playing word games, and, of course, Colorado history. She has published non-fiction children’s books for the “Great Lives in Colorado Biography Series,” published by Filter Press, a Colorado publisher including Helen Hunt Jackson: Colorado’s Literary Lady, Governor Ralph Carr: Supporting Japanese Americans and Felipe and Dolores Baca: Hispanic Pioneers. Another book Florence Sabin: Scientist, Educator, Humanitarian is part of the “Now You Know Bio Series,” also by Filter Press.
Rondi (not short for anything) Sokoloff Frieder grew up in New York, but moved to Colorful Colorado to teach elementary school, hike, and ski. Although she adores living in the wild west, she also enjoys exploring other times and places in the crafting of her middle grade novels. She has a found that digging up long lost family secrets makes for fabulous book writing! Rondi is the PAL LIAISON for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI and couldn’t keep writing without the support of her critique group, The Story Spinners, and the weekly NANO sessions at her dining room table. She plays guitar and flute, sings in a choir, loves taking pictures, and can still keep up with her husband and two grown sons on the slopes and trails. For more about Rondi, visit her website at www.rondibooks.com
Raised on a steady diet of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and mac and cheese, Coral Jenrette is now raising twin boys with her hubby. When the family isn’t reading or telling imagination stories, you can find them discussing conflict and character motivation from Disney stories (among others! But hey, she’s from Florida). Past, present, and a desired future, inspire her to write children’s books. More? Sure! www.coralwrites.com
Mary Kuehner has read about a billion picture books (that’s an estimate). As an early literacy librarian for more than 20 years, she’s shared and recommended books to young children and their caregivers for her entire career, and has no intention of stopping anytime soon. As a kid she devoured books, and one of her earliest reading memories is of waking up at 6am on Easter morning, knowing that she wasn’t allowed to leave her bed yet, and picking up her current read: A Wrinkle In Time. Later she would be proud to report that she had read A WHOLE CHAPTER by herself. When she’s not writing she’s reading (OBVIOUSLY), mostly middle grade and YA, but also finds time to drink a lot of coffee, hike, watch British comedy panel shows (Taskmaster, anyone?), play storytime songs on the ukulele and talk to her cat, Pip.
Growing up in Illinois, Karen Deger McChesney much preferred writing after school to being in any classroom. Unbeknownst to family, she stashed notebooks of all of her made-up stories and poems in her sock drawer. Writing was/is home! Karen’s learning disabilities and insatiable curiousity led to careers in magazine writing, public relations, and teaching and to serving on EMC Publishing and Free Spirit Publishing’s editorial boards. She has published articles on GreatSchools.org and in LAND Magazine and currently, she is YA Connect Leader for SCBWI-Rocky Mt. Chapter. Photography, all things outdoors, kitchen dancing and yoga are Karen’s muse for writing YA novels and picture books. She teaches youth at Lighthouse Writers Workshop and young disabled skiers at Colorado resorts. Her favorite activity: Being with her husband, stepson and his wife.
When she isn’t reading or writing, Susan Wroble spends her time gardening, focusing on native plants and bringing back biodiversity in the wake of climate change. She has four books out with the educational market, and her nonfiction picture book DAWN CHORUS: PROTECTING BIRDSONG AROUND THE WORLD is coming out with Holiday House in 2026. Volunteering is a major part of her life, and she is currently co-Regional Advisor for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI and volunteers at Colorado Children’s Hospital with her husband Guy and their therapy dog Nella.