Hester Bass

Hester Bass is the author of The Secret World of Walter Anderson, winner of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children given by the NCTE.

Illustrated by E. B. Lewis and published by Candlewick Press, it’s the story of a man who loved nature and art and sought to bring them together into one thing. This picture book biography also won the SIBA Book Award from the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, was named an NCSS Notable Social Studies Book, and cited as one of the Best Books of the Year by Kirkus (plus starred review), CCBC Choices, and Bank Street College of Education.

Hester Bass grew up in rural Georgia raising tadpoles on the porch and yearning for the wider world. Books in the library were her tickets to places where magic was real. She spent a lot of time dressing up her cats, wishing they would make tea and iron the laundry.

After a B.A. in Communications from Simmons College in Boston, Hester worked as a radio and television copywriter, commercial voice talent, and lead singer in a rock band. In New York City, she studied Shakespearean acting and delivered singing telegrams to Andy Warhol, Barbara Walters, and Johnny Mathis. She sang to Dick Clark as a contestant on “The $50,000 Pyramid” and was a winner in the Hot Seat on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” with Meredith Vieira.

Hester Bass has given workshops, keynotes, and lectures at national and regional conferences for organizations including ALA, IRA, NCTE, and SCBWI as well as state and local Reading and Library Associations, Young Authors Conferences, museums, universities, libraries, and schools. Hester enjoys traveling and speaking to audiences of all ages, picking up stories along the way. Home is currently at the foot of a mountain in Alabama.

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