Born: 1966
Ohio connection: Birth
Silver Lake
A native Ohioan, Shelley Pearsall has enjoyed writing and history since childhood. Before publishing, she was a public school teacher and a museum historian. In her spare time, she wrote historical scripts and short stories for Cleveland-area museums. Shelley Pearsall’s work and writing often has been influenced by her love of the past. She has taken part in a Revolutionary War shipwreck archaeology project, worked in an 18th century shoemaker shop in Colonial Williamsburg, and performed Great Lakes stories on a steamship–just to name a few of the unique historical jobs she has held over the years. She graduated from the College of Wooster (B.A.) in 1989 and holds a master’s degree in education from John Carroll University. She lives in Silver Lake, Ohio with her husband Mike, stepson Ethan, and rescued barn cat Marbles.
Awards:
Ohio Arts Council fellowship in writing; Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Ohioana Library Book Award for Juvenile Fiction, Bank Street College of Education Best Book designation, Jefferson Cup Honor Book, and New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing designation, all 2003, all for Trouble Don’t Last; New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age designation, Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People designation, and Great Lakes Book Award finalist, all 2006, all for Crooked River; American Library Association Notable Book designation, and New York Public Library Top 100 Books for Reading and Sharing designation, both 2007, and Voice of Youth Advocates Top Shelf designation, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award nomination, and North Carolina Children’s Book Award nomination, all 2008, all for All of the Above.