M. Jane Hawkins

I didn’t grow up dreaming of being a writer—the writing bug found me in my 30s and didn’t fully take hold until my 60s. But I’ve always loved books. As a kid, my friends and I ran a makeshift lending library out of our backyard playhouse. In college, I majored in English and even wrote a poem in honor of my father that was later read at his funeral. After years of church work and volunteering, I joined SCBWI-OK, committed to learning the craft of writing, and rewrote a dusty old draft about a boy and his truck. After much editing and work, that story became A Truck Named Tony, my debut picture book.