Elizabeth Brown is the author of Dancing Through Fields of Color: The Story of Helen Frankenthaler (Abrams) and Like A Diamond in the Sky: Jane Taylor’s Beloved Poem of Wonder and the Stars (Bloomsbury). Other forthcoming books are The Right to Play: Jane Addams’ Playgrounds (Albert Whitman) in Spring 2024 and The World Entire: The Untold True Story of Extraordinary Rescue from World War II (Chronicle), which releases Spring 2025.
Elizabeth Brown is a children’s book author, writer, film producer, and college teacher. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing and Screenwriting from Goddard College as well as a Post-MFA Certificate in the Teaching of Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles.
Ms. Brown teaches writing and the humanities at Saint Augustine College in Chicago as well as teaches creative writing for children K-12 at The Center for Gifted in the Chicagoland area. She has taught Screenwriting, Playwriting, Documentary Film Writing, and Writing Books for Children at Oakton Community College ALL and Evanston Township High School Adult and Continuing Education as well as other writing workshops. She currently serves as a judge for the Torrance Legacy Creative Writing Awards. She is also a patient advocate and delegate with Patients Rising in Washington D.C. and graduated from the Patients Rising Patients Advocacy Masterclass in 2022. Her focus is on chronic illness and disability rights for children and young adults. Currently, she is on the Federal Government Affairs Committee in the Senate Program at Patients Rising Now in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, Ms. Brown earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from DePaul University School of Music.
Elizabeth’s debut picture book DANCING THROUGH FIELDS OF COLOR: THE STORY OF HELEN FRANKENTHALER was published by Abrams Books for Young Readers and it was a New York Public Library Best Books of 2019, a Junior Library Guild Selection, a Society of Midland Authors 2020 Awards – Children’s Nonfiction Honoree, and A Mighty Girl 2019 Book of the Year. LIKE A DIAMOND IN THE SKY: JANE TAYLOR’S BELOVED POEM OF WONDER AND THE STARS (Bloomsbury) released in 2022 and was selected for the Bank Street Best Books of 2023 (Biography/Memoir Category). THE RIGHT TO PLAY: JANE ADDAMS’ PLAYGROUNDS is forthcoming in Spring 2024 from Albert Whitman, and THE WORLD ENTIRE: THE UNTOLD TRUE STORY OF EXTRAORDINARY RESCUE FROM WORLD WAR II releases in Spring 2025 (Chronicle Books). Additionally, she is a contributor to STREAM THIS NEXT (edited by Liane Bonin Starr), published in March 2022 by Rizzoli and The Bright Press (UK). Her YA fiction has appeared in IMMEDIATE FICTION published by St. Martin’s Press. Currently, she is in The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University for long-form fiction. Elizabeth is a member of SCBWI and is represented by Sean McCarthy Literary Agency.
Favorite Season:
Spring
Favorite Food:
Oranges
Things I Love:
Books, movies, amusement parks, roller coasters, animals, music, swimming, and taking walks to the beach
Favorite Thing to Do as a Child:
Going to the library on Saturdays with my father
Favorite Books as a Child:
Too many to count! I always had my nose in a book.
Growing Up:
I grew up in Illinois and Vermont. My father was a college psychology professor and researcher. I loved going to work with him, spending time in his lab, and watching him teach his classes. I guess that’s why I’m a college professor today!