Press Bio
Caroline Hickey is a critically-acclaimed children's book author. Her middle-grade novels include Ginny Off the Map, Cassie Was Here and Isabelle's Boyfriend, as well as many books in the popular Sew Zoey, In Due Time, and Sprinkle Sundays series. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School in New York City and has worked as an adjunct professor at McDaniel College, a writing mentor for at-risk girls, and a workshop instructor at Writopia Lab. She is a member of the Children's Book Guild of Washington, DC and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives just outside Washington, DC with her family.
Photo credit: Peter Dressel
My Story
I grew up in Baltimore, MD, where the winters were snowy and the summers were hot and humid. I had an older brother and a yappy dog and a best friend who lived just up the street. It was pretty great. I spent a lot of time at our local library which had a massive circular ramp from the street up to the book level. Walking up that ramp made each visit feel important. I loved getting new books every week, but I also hated returning ones that I liked, so sometimes I hid them in my room so they couldn't be returned. This resulted in a lot of overdue fines, which my mom wasn't so thrilled about. You could probably call me a book hoarder, since I also liked to collect series books just to admire them all lined up on my shelf.
I kept a journal starting at age ten, and wrote in it faithfully until I was about twenty-five. I still have all of those journals, and use them sometimes as inspiration for my books. I wrote a lot of poetry and short fiction as a kid, but didn't really think of becoming a writer until after I'd graduated college and was working in new media in New York City. I felt overwhelmed by the need to write, so I started working on some short stories. I quickly realized that most of my ideas were about school-aged kids, so I decided to concentrate on middle grade fiction. I began taking creative writing classes and ended up completing a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing at The New School. I started my first novel while I was there. Now I live just outside Washington, DC with my family, where I write books, walk my dog, and drive my kids around. I currently keep a one-line-a-day journal.