Courtney Sheinmel (born 1977 in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
Th ...
) is the author of over a dozen books for kids and teens. She lives in New York City.
Biography
Courtney has one sister, the young adult writer Alyssa Sheinmel, and three stepsiblings.
She graduated with honors from
Barnard College
Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
(part of
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
), and
Fordham School of Law
Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city.
According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...
. Courtney spent several years as a law firm associate, and on the weekends, she worked on what became her first middle grade novel, ''My So-Called Family'' (2008), which was praised for its heartfelt and insightful portrayal of what makes a family. Upon its publication, Courtney left the practice of law and began writing full-time. Courtney is also a BTBP, having produced and co-produced several Broadway shows including A Christmas Carol and ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME, empowered by the music of Britney Spears.
The protagonist of her second novel, ''Positively'' (2009), was a teenager living with HIV, inspired by Courtney's own longtime involvement with the
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs. Founded in 198 ...
.
Courtney continued to delve into unique and sometimes difficult family situations in books like ''All the Things You Are'' (2011) and ''Edgewater'' (2015). She is also the author of the young readers series ''Stella Batts'', the middle grade series ''The Kindness Club'', and co-author of the emerging reader series ''Agnes & Clarabelle''.
In addition to writing, Courtney served as a judge on the national level for the
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers is a nonprofit organization which manages the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a competition that recognizes talented young artists and writers from across the United States.
Scholastic Art & Writing ...
, and she received a National Scholastic Outstanding Educator Award for her work as a writing instructor at
Writopia Lab, a non-profit organization serving kids ages 8–18.
Bibliography
''My So-Called Family'' 2008
''Positively'' 2009
''Sincerely'' 2010
''All the Things You Are'' 2011
''Stella Batts Needs a New Name'' 2012
''Stella Batts: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow'' 2012
''Stella Batts: Pardon Me'' 2012
''Stella Batts: A Case of the Meanie''s 2012
''Stella Batts: Who's in Charge?'' 2013
''Stella Batts: Something Blue'' 2014
''Stella Batts: None of Your Beeswax'' 2014
''Stella Batts: Superstar'' 2015
''Edgewater'' 2015
''Zacktastic'' 2015
''Stella Batts: Scaredy Cat'' 2016
''The Kindness Club: Chloe on the Bright Side'' 2016
''Stella Batts: Broken Birthday'' 2017
''Agnes & Clarabelle'' (co-written with
Adele Griffin) 2017
''Agnes & Clarabelle Celebrate!'' (co-written with
Adele Griffin) 2017
References
External links
*Website: http://courtneysheinmel.com/
*Stella Batts website: http://www.stellabatts.com/splash/splash.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheinmel, Courtney
Barnard College alumni
Fordham University School of Law alumni
1977 births
Living people
American children's writers
Writers from Palo Alto, California
New York (state) lawyers