EMMY KASTNER

Emmy Kastner is a children's book author/illustrator living in Kalamazoo, Michigan with her family. She has always been in love with storytelling. Her writing has been published in Kinfolk and Gather Journal. Her debut series, Nerdy Babies (Roaring Brook Press, Macmillan Children's Books), launched in 2019 with Nerdy Babies: Ocean and Nerdy Babies: Space. These books are a celebration of curiosity and asking questions, exploring the world and beyond for young readers.

As a former high school teacher, Kastner taught English in the Midwest, and then science at El Camino High School in South San Francisco. After moving back to Michigan, she co-founded literacy nonprofit Read and Write Kalamazoo (RAWK) in 2012, running the organization for seven years. Through the developmental years, RAWK grew from a two-week summer writing workshop to a thriving organization that offers free programs (summer writing workshops, in-school programs, drop-in summer writing, thematic workshops), gifts free books through their Books For Keeps program, and has published hundreds of stories and poetry from youth in the greater Kalamazoo area. In 2017, with great support of the Kalamazoo community, RAWK found a permanent home. RAWK’s writing center and storefront, The Geological and Musicological Survey Co. is in the Vine neighborhood of Kalamazoo.