brief bio

J. Alison James has been writing and translating books for children since 1990, when her first novel, Sing for a Gentle Rain came out. She has lived in many countries, from Japan to Germany, from Sweden to Pakistan, and this past year, Taiwan.  As an undergraduate, she studied languages and literature, with a course in poetry by Newbery award winning author Nancy Willard; her graduate degree is in Children’s Literature. She has published two picture-books and two novels for young adults, is writing an adult novel. She has translated more than 140 books for children, mostly from German, but also from Swedish and Japanese. She lives with her musical family in northern Vermont.

click for an extended bio