Shelley grew up in western Wisconsin and moved to south central Minnesota after graduating from college. She worked at a daily newspaper for seven years, then switched to a career school public relations. Shelley plunged into the world of freelance writing in 2008.

 

Her book, LITTL ROCK GIRL: How a Photo Changed the Fight for Integration, won several honors, including two starred reviews, School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2012, Booklist’s Top Ten Editor’s Choices for Nonfiction Kids Books in 2011, a gold medal in the 2012 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards, and VOYA’s 2011 Nonfiction Honor List.

 

Her first middle-grade novel, TH GRAHAM CRACKER PLOT, published by Roaring Press, will be on bookshelves in the fall of 2014.

 

Shelley now lives in western Wisconsin with her daughter and fiancé. She’s working on her second novel and blogs at www.shelleytougas.com.

 

Shelley Tougas

• Website: www.shelleytougas.com