William Tellem

William Tellem (1953 - going strong and still doing 35 push-ups every morning, but it's definitely not getting any easier, lol) was born in Chicago, Ill., to Jewish immigrant parents, grew up in Newark and West Orange, NJ, and graduated from Johns Hopkins University. Very shy as a child, Tellem became a voracious reader - the first ingredient towards becoming a great writer. His "been there/done that" life, has balanced many diverse pursuits and interests, among them, marriage, writing, teaching, banking, marketing, and diamond dealing. Tellem's eclectic writing skills have allowed him to produce a wide range of beautiful stories for children. Several of the stories are a result of situations he experienced with his own five children as they grew up. Accolades of intense admiration for Tellem's stories adorn the back covers of his books. Random House, Harper Collins, Sterling Lord Literistic, Kirkus Reviews, Skyhorse Publishing, and many other famous publishers and agents, praise Tellem's work as "amusing and original ... wonderfully creative ... obviously very talented ... tender and playful ... possesses a knack for kid-appealing writing," in an ongoing choir of adoration. Children go wild over his stories when Tellem does readings at public libraries around the country - a difficult task for the still shy sixty-nine-year-old author. Every one of Tellem's stories inspires children to proclaim, "It's my favorite story!" A true believer in Malala Yousafzai's words, "One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world," Tellem hopes that his stories will ignite children with a true lifelong passion for reading. To date, Tellem has fourteen published stories, with twenty-four manuscripts waiting impatiently for their turn to be illustrated.