From writer to teacher to writer.
Ann K. Morris writes middle grade and young adult novels. Her first young adult novel, THIN, was published in 2022. Her middle grade novel, I Taught Benjamin Franklin How to Drive, will be published in January 2025.
Originally from Kansas, Ann earned a B.A. in English and psychology from the University of Kansas, an M.A. in journalism from the University of Iowa, and a B.S. in education from the University of Saint Mary. As a professional writer for 13 years, Ann wrote articles for newspapers and magazines, as well as the book Leawood: A Portrait in Time, a history of Leawood, Kansas.
In 2003, Ann switched from writing to teaching writing. She worked as a middle school English teacher in Kansas and Colorado for 15 years.
As much as Ann enjoyed teaching children how to write, she has switched back to writing herself. However, this time, instead of interviewing people and writing about them, Ann is creating characters and making them say whatever she wants them to say. And it’s a lot more fun!
Ann and her husband have two adult daughters and two adorable grandchildren. She lives in Colorado with her husband and two dogs.
A few fun facts…
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I’m only 4’11”, but my husband is 6’1”. Our two daughters are both about my height. My husband wonders where his genes went!
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We have rescued 8 dogs over the past 30 years. Their names are Georgia, Beverly, Bridget, Sam, Coco, Mack, Miss Willow, and Leo.
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Some of my favorite books are the City Spies series (James Ponti), The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton), Identical (Ellen Hopkins), and And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie).
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I’ve been to every state in the U.S., as well as 22 countries. My favorites are Iceland, Costa Rica, Australia, England, the Netherlands… Wait, I think all of them are my favoritres!
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All of the kids in my literature group in fifth grade had to write a story and then vote on one story to act out, and they chose mine! I’ve loved writing ever since then.
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I enjoy taking my dogs to McDonald's to get a Diet Coke. And when we get home, they get a treat!
Mack (black) and Leo (white) are excellent writing assistants.
My husband and I with our daughter Kate and her boyfriend Ian in Iceland.
Our daughter Elizabeth with our grandchildren, Addie and Owen.
Thank goodness for doctors! Here I am in Nairobi, Kenya, with my family and Dr. Ben, who saved my life when I came down with malaria.