BACKGROUND: B.A. and M.A. degrees in history. Former middle school social studies and language arts teacher. Presently, writing and teaching adult continuing education writing courses at College of DuPage.

LOCATION: Lisle, Illinois (west of Chicago); accepts speaking engagements throughout the country.

PUBLICATIONS: Currency, The Calendar, and The Telephone, Franklin Watts Inventions That Changed the World series; Côte D’Ivoire, Ukraine, Tibet, Singapore, Korea, Cameroon, Syria, Jordan, South Korea, and North Korea, Children’s Press Enchantment of the World Series; Minnesota and Mississippi, Marshall Cavendish revised Celebrate the States series; The Great Lakes and The Great Barrier Reef, Marshall Cavendish Exploring Natural Wonders of the World series; Nature’s Power, The Pioneer Way, and The United States: Region by Region, Steck-Vaughn Pair-It series; Facts About the 50 States, Making a Park, The Mighty Mississippi, and What Do We Need? Rigby English-as-a Second-Language readers. Thirty titles from Alabama to Wyoming, including Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., Capstone Press One Nation Series. Oh, Sheri...So Unforgettable, biography privately commissioned by Jerry Reinsdorf.

AWARDS: Côte D’Ivoire and titles in the One Nation series received awards from Chicago Women in Publishing (1997, 1998) and the Illinois Women’s Press Association (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002). Ukraine and The Telephone received an award from the Illinois Women’s Press Association (2002, 2006). Currency was awarded first place in its category by the Illinois Women's Press Association (2005).

AUDIENCE: Grades 3-8; adults.

PRESENTATIONS FOR CHILDREN: “Nothing but the Facts: Get the Scoop on Writing Nonfiction”—research and interviewing methods, as well as the writing process, used for making nonfiction exciting, as well as informative. “How Writers’ Words Become Books”—overview of the publishing process, highlighting career opportunities. If time allows, students take part in a group nonfiction writing project.

PRESENTATIONS FOR ADULTS: “Querying an Editor: The First Step in Publishing Children’s Nonfiction” and “Putting a Book Proposal Together: The Second Step in Publishing Children’s Nonfiction” analyze elements of the query letter and the proposal for a children’s nonfiction book. Resource lists and time for Q&A provided.

Contact Information:
Email: patriciakummer@netscape.com