About Anne-Marie Strohman

Anne-Marie Strohman – writer, speaker, teacher, and podcast host

Anne-Marie Strohman writes for all ages, from the youngest picture book readers to adults who read short fiction. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and her short fiction has been published by Reflex Press and Black Fox Literary Magazine, which nominated her short story, “What You Don’t Know Now,” for a Pushcart Prize.

An experienced speaker, she has presented at regional and national conferences and events. She founded, edits, and writes for KidLit Craft, a resource for children’s and YA writers who want to improve their craft. She also co-hosts the KidLit Craft Podcast and teaches writing classes.

A lifelong learner, Anne-Marie has a PhD in Renaissance Literature as well as a Certificate in Professional Editing from UC Berkeley Extension. She occasionally takes on freelance writing and editing projects.

She lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she finds her best ideas on local hiking trails.

Photos from my life as a writer…

My All-Time Favorite Books

  • Cover of Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King, featuring a chaotic tornado-like black scribble in the center over a beige background, with typewritten words branching out of the tornado.

    Still Life with Tornado

    by A.S. King

    This is the first A.S. King book I read, and it’s still my favorite. The concept of a character meeting an older version of herself at a bus stop blew my mind.

  • Cover of Wilder Girls by Rory Power, featuring an illustration of a girl with short dark hair, with her face cut into spiral strips and a plant with small flowers peaking through.

    Wilder Girls

    by Rory Power

    The setting in this book is exquisite, as are the relationships between the girls who live together on this island in the school that has ceased to function as a school since the Tox struck. It’s another book with a slow reveal, and one that blends deep emotional connections with some fast-paced action at all the right points.

  • Cover of How it Feels to Float by Helena Fox. Blue cover showing girl in profile with dark windswept hair covering her face

    How it Feels to Float

    by Helena Fox

    Complicated friendships, complicated family dynamics, a bit of the unexplainable, a discovery about the past that casts light on the present, and the ocean in all its states, plus beautiful sentences. This is the book that made me think I could (or would even want to) write YA.

  • Cover of Purple Hibiscus by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie. Red-Orange with concentric circles of dots.

    Purple Hibiscus

    Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie

    I love this tightly written coming-of-age novel, written in response to Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Born into a privileged family in Nigeria, Kimbali must sort through the narratives that come from the complexly drawn adults in her life.

  • Cover of The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Blue-grey snow background with illustration of young girl with blond hair peeking out behind one of several birch trees, and an orange fox peeking out behind another.

    The Snow Child

    by Eowyn Ivey

    I love stories that involve ambiguity and the possibility of magic to explain the unexplainable, and The Snow Child offers that and more. At its core, it’s about the impossibility of living without community and how necessary it is for humans to give and receive love.

  • Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Text on white full-width blocks, behind which is a photo of a child with blue eyes looking up and to the right.

    Never Let Me Go

    by Kazuo Ishiguro

    It’s hard to pick just one Ishiguro book. I love books that present a world as “normal,” only to reveal that the world is not as it seems. Ishiguro is the master of the slow reveal.

  • Cover Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Black and white drawing of a girl walking past a building with broken windows. Text is written over orange and yellow blocks of color.

    Harriet the Spy

    by Louise Fitzhugh

    As I kid, I wanted to BE Harriet. As an adult, I’m struck by Harriet’s voice and how unique she is. If I can’t be her, I still want to hang out with her.

  • Cover of The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. Creepy sci-fi style, dark tree with the outline of a man in a top hat holding a watering can cutout.

    The Night Gardener

    by Jonathan Auxier

    This book is creepy in all the right ways. It feels like a Washington Irving story, where the creepy builds up slowly and doesn’t tip into graphic horror.

  • Cover of Lolo’s Light by Liz Garton Scanlon.

    Lolo’s Light

    by Liz Garton Scanlon

    This book is full of so much feeling. It’s difficult and tender and precise and wondrous all at once. And the metaphors!

  • Cover of Let’s Do Nothing by Tony Fucile. Cartoon-style drawing of two boys sitting in white chairs, facing forward but looking at each other in conversation.

    Let’s Do Nothing

    by Tony Fucile

    This was the picture book that made me want to write picture books. It’s clever, funny, and so kid-relatable.

  • Cover of Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault. Gray background, with illustration of a green plant in the background and a woman's face, a girl's face, and an orange fox.

    Jane, the Fox, and Me

    by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault (Illustrator), translated by Susan Ouriou and Christelle Morelli

    This exquisite graphic novel for middle grade readers feels like a picture book for grown-ups. Arsenault’s art always impresses, and these illustrations make the story come alive on the page.

  • Cover of Watercress by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin. Watercolor scene of a girl with dark hair crossing a stream.

    Watercress

    by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin (illustrator)

    I teach how to write middle grade novels using this picture book. It has all the elements you see in novels, including description, interiority, and even backstory. It’s a deeply felt story with illustrations that add depth and texture.