Conrad J. Storad

Conrad J. Storad is the award-winning author or editor of more than 60 science and nature books for children and young adults. New for 2026 is "Polymers Among Us." What do sneakers, toothbrushes, toys, and even space technology have in common? They're all made with polymers! Join the curious Story Monster and his fun-loving polymer guides, Pauly and Penny, on a colorful comic-style adventure that makes polymer science fun, easy to understand, and full of surprises. Bursting with fascinating facts, real-world connections, and hands-on discoveries, Polymers Among Us sparks curiosity, inspires big imaginations, and reveals the amazing science hiding in everyday life—while encouraging tomorrow's scientists, engineers, and innovators. New in 2024 was The Magical History Tour (A fictional visit to Barberton, Ohio…past, present, and future). The book was written for Barberton City Schools and is part of a new local history curriculum for elementary grade students. Night Watchers (Nocturnal Creatures of North America) was published in 2023, Story Monsters Among Us in 2022. The graphic comic style book provides brief snapshots from the evolution of human storytelling. In July 2018, the Book Publicists of Southern California presented Storad the IRWIN Award as Storyteller of the Year. In March 2017, Storad achieved a career goal. He has done author visits and workshops for more than 1 million students and teachers across America to promote science literacy.

Storad is the author of many national award-winning titles. Story Monsters Among Us won the Outstanding Creator Award as Best Children’s Book for 2023. The Bat Book earned a Will Rogers Gold Medallion Award in 2017 for Best Western Fiction for Children/Illustrated. In 2014, Monster in the Rocks was selected by the National Center for the Book to represent Arizona as part of the “52 Great Reads” program at the National Book Festival. Other winners include Arizona Way Out West & Wacky, and Arizona Way Out West & Witty – Library Edition, fun history/science activity books for young readers. Arizona Witty was named “One Book Arizona for Kids” in 2012 by the Arizona State Library. In 2006, Storad’s Don't Call Me Pig! (A Javelina Story) was selected by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as part of her program to promote reading. More than 93,000 Arizona first graders received a special edition copy. In 2001, Libraries Limited and the Arizona Library Association honored him with the Judy Goddard Award as "Arizona Children's Author of the Year."

Storad worked at Arizona State University for more than 24 years writing and editing stories about science and scholarship. He was founding editor of the national award- winning ASU Research Magazine, and for Chain Reaction, a unique science magazine for young readers. Prior to ASU, Storad worked as a reporter, editor, and general manager for The Barberton Herald newspaper in northeast Ohio. He was a science/medical writer intern for the U.S. National Cancer Institute and a science/feature writer at Kent State University. Storad earned a degree in mass media communication from the University of Akron in 1979. With a focus on science journalism, he was one of the first three students to earn a master's degree in mass media communication from Arizona State University in 1983. Storad was a Year 2000 inductee to the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism Hall of Fame. He was a 2007 inductee to the BHS Academic Hall of Fame. In 2017, Storad received a square on the Walk of Fame in his hometown of Barberton, Ohio.