Connie Goldsmith
Connie Goldsmith is a registered nurse with a bachelor of science degree in nursing and a master of public administration degree in health care. She has written numerous books for YA readers and nearly two hundred magazine articles. Her recent books include Kiyo Sato: From a WWII Japanese Internment Camp to a Life of Service (2020), a Junior Library Guild selection; Running on Empty: Sleeplessness in American Teens (2021); Understanding Coronaviruses: SARS, MERS, and the COVID-19 Pandemic (2021); and Bombs Over Bikini: The World’s First Nuclear Disaster (2014), a Junior Library Guild selection, a Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year, an Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California Distinguished Book, and an SCBWI Crystal Kite Winner. She lives in Sacramento, California. Visit her website at http://www.conniegoldsmith.com/.
Interview
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
SO many, but perhaps Heidi and Wind in the Willows.
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Uh oh, too many here. I’ll stick with my favorite adult writers: Alice Hoffman, Jodi Picoult, Daniel Silva, Michael Connelly, and Barbara Kingsolver.
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
I didn’t especially want to become a writer. I was busy working in nursing, going to college, and being a single mom. The urge to write sort of crept up on me when I wasn’t looking. I started with writing continuing education courses for nursing, then writing for children’s magazines. Millbrook published my first book in 2001.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
Join SCBWI immediately! Form or join a critique group. Enter contests. Read in the genre you want to write—one hundred books before you write your first word! Go to conferences and participate.
