Doug Rand
Doug Rand is a writer whose plays have been performed thousands of times worldwide. His first book for children is Shavuot, Shavuot, Why Are You Sad? Doug served as Senior Advisor to the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during the Biden administration and as Assistant Director for Entrepreneurship in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) during the Obama administration. As an entrepreneur, he was the co-founder and president of Boundless, and the co-founder and CEO of Playscripts, Inc. He lives in the Washington, DC, area with his wife, their three children, and a pet axolotl.
Interview
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
One Monster After Another by Mercer Mayer
What’s your favorite line from a book?
“Then I went for some Ziffs. They’re exactly like Zuffs,
But the Ziffs live on cliffs and the Zuffs live on bluffs.
And, seeing how bluffs are exactly like cliffs,
It’s mighty hard telling the Zuffs from the Ziffs.”—Scrambled Eggs Super by Dr SeussWho are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Grace Lin, Mo Willems, and Douglas Adams
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
Who wouldn’t want to become a children’s book author?
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
I’m still too green to give advice…but it helps to read a lot aloud!
