Short Bio:
Audrey Beth Stein is the author of the memoir Map, which was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and the novel Becoming Emily Novak, as well as the picture books Bear and Dragon Cat, Do Over, Look at Me, and The Day My Best Friend and a Migraine Slept Over, which was shortlisted for The Forevability Book Awards. She earned an MFA at Emerson College and taught creative writing workshops for a decade.
And a more casual introduction:
I'm a human trying to make my way in this world, like all of us. At various times I think of myself as an artist, healer, teacher, intuitive facilitator, writer, editor, collaborator, friend. Mostly these days, I'm just me.
I always imagined having a book on the shelf with my name on the spine, but photography was my first serious art form. I still miss spending time in the darkroom and watching images magically appear in the developer. Nowadays, I usually use my phone instead of an SLR camera, and I share some of my photos on Instagram, interspersed with book news.
I spent a decade writing two adult books (getting an MFA and taking a picture book lit class along the way), then another decade or so exploring interdisciplinary arts and improv and human relationships, then in recent years have come back to a focus on writing and books. Picture books entered the picture because I had new young friends, but I love the form because of the many ways to collaborate and create and play... I often ask, "What's the right path for THIS story?"
I write to make sense of the world I live in, to communicate, to explore, and to have fun. Mostly, I write about family and relationships and how to make the world a better place. More than once, I've written about a Dragon Cat and invisible kittens... which is kind of the same thing, but sillier.
Since late 2016, the state of democracy, late-stage capitalism, and the pandemic have altered the focus of—and capacity for—my work on numerous occasions. I used to imagine ahead five or ten years. Now even a year feels far away and unpredictable. I have no idea what the future holds.
Meanwhile, I'm actively collaborating with a friend on a Secret Picture Book Project, and in November 2022, I wrote 50K words of something for National Novel Writing Month. If I didn't just jinx myself by mentioning those two projects, maybe there will be another Audrey Beth Stein book for you to read one of these days.