downloadable photos below text
For the Press
The Formal Bio
Gennifer Choldenko is the Newbery Honor author of the beloved Al Capone Does My Shirts now in its 44th printing, and co-author of the New York Times bestselling Dogtown with the one and only Katherine Applegate. Gennifer’s most recent book, The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman has garnered 4 starred reviews, an Indie Next and JLG selection, and an Amazon Best Children’s Book So Far This Year (July 2024). “Choldenko speaks from the heart in this compelling story,” Booklist said in a starred review. The second book in the Dogtown series Mouse and His Dog launches September 2024. Gennifer lives in Northern California with her loyal husband, her clever daughter, and her sleepy dog.
What Gennifer Says about Herself
There’s a Lego in my bum which fits with the Lego in my chair and when I sit down to write, I hear the satisfying snap of the two pieces fitting together. I love words, dictionaries, thesauruses, sharp pencils, the smell of book ink and the delicious art of carving out sentences on clean white paper. I love to slip into another person’s skin and feel what it’s like to live another life. I love when characters come to me out of nowhere and make me cry so hard my mascara runs or laugh until my stomach hurts. I love the crazy fun and infinite possibility of storytelling.
What prepared me for a life of writing fiction? Though I have a BA from Brandeis University in English and American Literature and a BFA in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design, the true answer is probably genes. I come from a long line of Irish storytellers on my father’s side and theatre people on my mother’s. I always knew I loved to write, but it took me a long time to summon the courage to chase the dream. I finally went for it when I realized I would prefer to be a failure at something I wanted to do, then a success at something I didn’t.
While I was pretending I wasn’t a writer, trying to be a nice person with a nice quiet job somewhere, I sold lingerie, lipstick and lamp shades. I wrote junk mail. I taught visually and hearing-impaired kids horseback riding. I held a prestigious job in rubbish removal and I worked in a factory wearing a paper gown while wielding a large mallet on small serving packages of ketchup.
I am a fitness fanatic; a book-obsessed, tennis-playing woman who thinks like a twelve-year-old. If I ever get the good fortune to meet you, offer me coffee and I will be your friend for life.
Photographs Available for Use in Print and Online
To download a photo, right-click on the link and select “save target as.”
TOP PHOTO:
Click here for 300 dpi, RGB, JPG (for print)
.75″ w x 1.0″ h, 78 kb.
Click here for 72 dpi, RGB, JPG (for web)
180 px wide, 12 kb.
Click here for 300 dpi, grayscale, JPG (for print)
.75″ w x 1.0″ h, 57 kb.
BOTTOM PHOTO:
Click here for 300 dpi, RGB, JPG (for print)
2″ w x 2.9″ h, 139 kb.
Click here for 72 dpi, RGB, JPG (for web)
260 x 360 px, 49 kb.
Click here for 300 dpi, grayscale, JPG (for print)
2″ w x 2.9″ h, 139 kb.