My Writing Journey

As you may by now have gathered, many of my writing projects (though not all) are co-authored with my mother, Julie Andrews. This makes me two things:

1) one of the luckiest writers in the world, and
2) seriously dedicated to craft.

It's probably obvious why I feel so lucky.  But I never took anything for granted, and I didn't want people to think I rode in on my mother's coat-tails. So, I've spent most of my writing life learning every aspect of writing and publishing books for children - honing my craft to the furthest extent possible. But let me back up a bit.

Mom and I actually co-wrote our first story together when I was five years old, as a means of helping me bridge the distance between her and my father.  They were newly divorced and living on opposite coasts. The idea was that Mom and I would write a story, then I would bring it to Dad – a production designer by the name of Tony Walton – during summer vacation, so he could illustrate it. The result was Charlie the Englishman. Dad says he took his inspiration for the illustrations from my childhood drawings. Mom had the finished product bound for me as a symbol of our permanent connection to one another, divorce and distance not-withstanding. (I still have it to this day.)

Throughout my childhood, I continued to write – solo now, stories of all kinds. In my early teens, I embarked on a salacious YA novel which is too embarrassing to discuss any further. (I still have that, too, but it’s safely locked inside a heavy metal trunk in my attic.)

In my late teens and early twenties, I decided I wanted to pursue work in the theater. I studied acting, performing in film and television and on stage, then segued into directing and eventually producing. I met and fell in love with my husband, Stephen Hamilton, and we partnered on a number of creative projects, including founding and running a regional theater (Bay Street Theatre, in Sag Harbor.)  Even then, I spent a lot of my personal time writing – mostly children’s stories, a lot of them in verse, that never saw the light of day. I also taught playwriting to middle and high school students, and worked as a dramaturg (which is to a playwright what an editor is to an author.) Then Steve and I had kids of our own.

When our son, Sam, was a toddler, he was FANATICAL about trucks. I mean he ate, slept, breathed, dreamed them. He would only play with truck toys and read books, wear clothes, sleep on sheets, watch videos,  you name it - with truck themes. My mother had written and published two middle grade novels and two chapter books in prior years, and around this time her publisher asked if she’d consider writing something for younger kids – perhaps a picture book. While brainstorming ideas, she asked me what kind of book I always sought out for for Sam, and of course I told her it would have to be about trucks… preferably something character-driven (no pun intended), with a good story and theme, not just another expository non-fiction book. She suggested we try writing it together - and our first book, Dumpy the Dump Truck, was the result.

Fast forward almost three decades. We have now written over 35 children’s books together across multiple formats: picture books, board books, leveled readers, chapter books, middle grade novels, poetry anthologies and two memoirs. Those early years were a tremendous learning curve for us both. But we were quick and eager students, and we were fortunate to work with talented and patient editors from whom we learned so much.  We even had our own imprint for a time, The Julie Andrews Collection at Harper Collins, where I served as Editorial Director – not only for our books, but for books by other authors that we published.

Eventually, I moved away from theater altogether and devoted myself to writing, editing, and teaching writing, full time.  I also had another child – our daughter, Hope – who, like her brother, was the inspiration behind another picture book series: The Very Fairy Princess.  Even Charlie the Englishman came full circle, when we re-wrote it and published it as Simeon’s Gift.

In 2008, I became a proud faculty member of Stony Brook University’s MFA in Creative Writing and Literature, where I teach children’s book writing, among other courses, and direct the annual Children’s Literature Conference in the summer. I also serve as Executive Director for the Young Artists and Writers Project, our outreach into area middle and high schools. I also undertook my own MFA, taking courses with such brilliant and esteemed fellow faculty members as Jules Feiffer, Roger Rosenblatt, Billy Collins and Julie Sheehan. I received my Master's Degree in Creative Writing in 2021.

I am a total sponge – a life-long learner constantly in pursuit of bettering my craft. In addition to all my writing, editorial, and teaching work, I am a co founder (with Katie Davis and Julie Hedlund) of Picture Book Summit, the annual online conference for picture book creators, as well as The Complete Picture Book Submissions System (also with Julie Hedlund,) which supports picture book authors and illustrators in navigating the submission trenches. I also offer home-study courses and other products and resources for aspiring children’s book and young adult authors here on my website. Looking back, I realize I’ve always been intrigued by storytelling – whether dramatic or literary – and everything I’ve learned and continue to learn informs everything else.

I’m serious when I say I think I’m one of the luckiest writers in the world – not just because I have a truly terrific writing partner with whom I have been so fortunate to collaborate, but because I spend my days doing what I love best, in an environment I adore, surrounded by like-minded creative colleagues and friends.