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A Media Kit & Ca(ron)boodle Bio

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Note book specific bios are on flap copies!

Pronouns: She/her

Name Pronunciation: Caron = Karen (care-in) Levis = Leh-Viss

I am never insulted if you ask me how to pronounce it, and we all make mistakes. Please do try to note it is Levis in writing so folks can find me;)

Picture Book Author Bio:

Caron Levis (MFA; LMSW) is the author of several picture books including the award winning Feeling-Friends collection with Charles Santoso: Mighty Muddy Us, Feathers Together, This Way, Charlie and Ida, Always which the New York Times Book Review calls, "an example of children's books at their best." Other titles include Stop That Yawn! illustrated by LeUyen Pham; Mama’s Work Shoes illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton. Caron is a professor and the coordinator  for The New School's Writing for Children/YA MFA program. With over 20 years as a Creative SEL/Literacy skills educator Caron uses  drama and writing techniques to create a variety of interactive school visits, professional developments and writing workshops  with a playful approach to exploring practical skills. As a social worker she has facilitated loss & bereavement groups for children and caregivers. Caron was born, raised, and currently lives in New York City.  Writing short things takes her a long time. A favorite adventure was floating in a hot air balloon at sunrise. Visit her at www.caronlevis.com

PB plus other writing bio:

Caron Levis (MFA; LMSW) is the author of several star reviewed and award winning picture books including the Feeling-Friends collection: Feathers Together, This Way, Charlie, Mighty Muddy Us (Abrams)  and Ida, Always (Atheneum)  which the New York Times Book Review calls, "an example of children's books at their best." Other titles include: Stop That Yawn! (Atheneum); Mama's Shoes (Abrams); May I Have A Word? (FSG)  Short stories and plays for teens and adults have won awards, been published in magazines, anthologies and the film adaptation of Attendant won Best Short in The Sunscreen Film Festival West (2018.) Caron is a professor at NYU and The New School where she is the coordinator for The New School's Writing for Children/YA MFA program. As a social worker she has facilitated loss & bereavement groups for kids and parents and worked with military veterans in college. With a background in acting, meditation, one-to-one work, and over 20 years as an SEL arts educator in various settings, Caron uses a blend of drama and writing techniques to create a variety of interactive workshops for children and adults that approach a playful approach to exploring practical skills. ​Caron was born, raised, and currently lives in New York City.  Visit her at www.caronlevis.com

 

Pronouns: She/her

Name Pronunciation: Caron = Karen (care-in) Levis = Leh-Viss

 

I am never insulted if you ask me how to pronounce it, and we all make mistakes. Please do try to note it is Levis in writing so folks can find me;) 

More on Caron's Professional Experiences

writing....

Caron enjoys writing fiction and plays for children, teens, and adults. She is the author of several picture books including the award winning picture book Ida, Always (Atheneum) which The New York Times Book Review called, "an example of children's books at their best." Also created with Charles Santoso is her Feeling-with-Friends collection (Abrams): This Way, Charlie, Feathers Together, Mighty Muddy Us. Other titles include May I Have A Word? (FSG/Macmillan, 2017) Stop That Yawn! (Athenuem 2018) Mama's Work Shoes (Abrams 2019); Stuck with the Blooz (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.) Her short story Permission Slip was re-published in FAKES, a new anthology by W.W. Norton, edited by David Shields and Matthew Vollmer.  Permission Slip and other short stories for teens and adults have been published by Fence Magazine, the New Guard Review, Persea Books; have been listed in the Best American Non-required Reading, nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and won a New York Foundation of the Arts grant and SLS Literary Seminar scholarship.  Her plays have won Audience favorite at the Estrogenius Festival, been selected for the Samuel French OOB Festival's Final Forty; the film adaptation of Attendant won Best Short in Sunscreen Film Festival West and selected for the upcoming Garden State Film Festival.

Awards & Recognitions: (as up to date as possible)

Books: Ida Always is the recipient of a Christopher Award, Frostburg Univeristy Children's Literature Centre Award, the Sakura Medal (by students in international schools of Japan); Goodreads Choice Award Finalist; Cybils Award FInalist; Florida Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award nominee. Artwork for Ida, Always and Feathers Together by Charles Santoso and Stop That Yawn! by LeUyen Pham were selected for the Society of Illustrator's Original Art Show. Stop That Yawn! is a Junior LIbrary Guild selection; This Way, Chralie is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection.  Ida, Always; This Way, Charlie; Stuck with the Blooz; May I Have A Word? were BankStreet Books Best of the year selections. Books have been nominated for many state reading awards and lists including: The Nutmeg Award, The Monarch Awards, California Young Readers Award, and more. She has been awarded residency fellowships at Saltonstall Foundation, Jentel Artist Residency, and Storyknife Writer's Residency. 

Notable Reviews...(coming soon, see PB pages:) 

educating...

adults:

Caron teaches children's/ya literature at NYU School of Professional Studies and in The New School's MFA Creative Writing program where she is the Children's/YA  coordinator, She greatly enjoys teaching her original workshop Act Like A Writer, at colleges, writers conferences, in living rooms, and anywhere! She served for five years as the writing coach for the Writers-in-Performance lab at the BMCC/Tribeca Performing Arts Theatre,  has conducted workshops for writers at the Summer Literary Seminars conference, and professional development workshops for english teachers throughout NYC. She teaches workshops and coaches adults in creative writing, public apeaking, interactive storytelling techniques, and more. 

pre-K--12:

Caron's author visits immerse kids in social, emotional, and literacy skills through interactive storytelling, drama, and writing. She has been an arts educator for over ten years, working with students of all ages, teachers, and parents. A trained actor with an MFA in Creative Writing, her workshops are designed to enhance artistic, academic, and SEL skills such as self awareness, communication, and courage. Caron has worked in private and public schools, special education classrooms, detention centers, and gifted & talented programs.  She tailors her classes to suit the needs of each school and class. She has worked as a Teaching Artist with non-profit organizations such as Teachers & Writers Collaborative, Enact Inc, Early Stages, and Creative Arts Team. Caron is familiar with the emerging national core standards; has created and taught programs on topics such as: bullying, gangs, peer pressure, dating, drop out prevention, nutrition, justice and more. She has developed an interactive storytelling method to teach early childhood literacy. She has taught solo, with a partner, and in collaboration with classroom teachers. Students have performed culminating projects at schools, and off site at John Jay College, The Apollo Theatre, and with John Tartaglia's award winning show, Imaginocean. Currently, Caron works as a facilitator of loss & bereavement groups for children with the Jewish Board in NYC. 

Degrees & Always Learning...

Caron earned an LMSW from Hunter College, MFA in Creative Writing from The New School University, and has a BA from Tufts University. She studied acting at the Eugene O'Neill theatre center, the Moscow Art Theatre, and with Lenard Petit at the Michael Chekhov Acting Studio. Caron has been selected for and completed Arts Educator professional development programs with ATA & NYSAAE, Community Word Project, and Marquis Studio. 

 

Professional Affiliations: Long time member of SCBWI.org

 

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