Jennifer Hallissy grew up in a house in which paper and pencils were almost as plentiful as hugs and kisses. With an English professor as a mom, and an architect as a dad, Jen and her two sisters dutifully doodled, documented, and drafted their ideas on a daily basis.
As a young child, she penciled great works such as a poem on chocolate-covered insects, a letter to the President of the United States, and the script for a neighborhood news broadcast.
Jennifer fine-tuned her writing skills during high school, as she tried to encapsulate the events of her teenage life, and speculate on the meaning of it all, while passing notes back-and-forth to her BFF Gina in English class. (Unfortunately, her English teacher was unimpressed.)
Jennifer went on to earn both her Bachelor's Degree in English and her Master’s Degree in occupational therapy from New York University. As an occupational therapist, she soon acquired a happy preoccupation with the art and science of writing development.
Jennifer was lucky to recognize her Prince Charming, Bruce, at first sight. You see, he wears a perpetual pencil behind his ear, which she finds ever so endearing. As a mom, she has found herself similarly smitten with her children, Jack and Gracie, not to mention all of the wonderful scribbles and stories they joyfully create. Her experience as a parent has only served to reinforce her professional passion for nurturing young writers. Each day she is reminded that every child has a story to tell, and that story begins at home.
Jennifer loves to share information and inspiration about encouraging young writers. She leads hands-on workshops for parents and professionals, and contributes to national parenting magazines as a writer herself. She recently authored her first book, The Write Start (Trumpeter, 2010), which is scheduled to hit the shelves on December 28. Jennifer looks forward to raising children who love to write, and sharing all of her adventures along the way.
