About Me

Short Version

Hello! My name is M, (like “Em”) and I write a lot. Having spent several years teaching reading, writing, and research, I now scribble stories for children.

Less Short Version

From a young age M. Reding Shonka was determined to live a life surrounded by books. In that pursuit, she has been a bookseller, a librarian, an English professor, and a scholar: earning advanced degrees in Literature and Education. After much waffling and gathering of courage, she finally decided to write some herself. Now she lives on a farm in the Middle of Nowhere, Iowa surrounded by overflowing shelves. There she spends her time tending various toddlers, pets, and plants, and scribbling new stories for children. In future she plans to bring things full circle and haunt bookish places, all sorts.

Affiliations

Drake University: Current Ph.D. candidate in the School of Education

Iowa State University: M.A. in English Literature

University of Northern Iowa: B.A. in English Literature & Creative Writing

Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators: Member Iowa Midwest Region