Debra Kempf Shumaker, "Peculiar Primates: Fun Facts About These Curious Creatures" (Running Press Kids, 2022)

Summary

Debra Kempf Shumaker is author of three children's books. In this, our second interview (our first was almost two years ago with release of Freaky, Funky Fish) we talk about her new book, Peculiar Primates: Fun Facts About These Curious Creatures (Running Press Kids, 2022) which launches on October 11. We talk about her life, writing journey, her initiative to help agents discover authors (pbpitch) and her tips for aspiring children's writers. Debra writes from her home in North Virginia where she lives with her husband, three sons and two cats.

Mel Rosenberg is a professor of microbiology (Tel Aviv University, emeritus) who fell in love with children's books as a small child and now writes his own. He is also the founder of Ourboox, a web platform that allows anyone to create and share awesome flipbooks.

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Mel Rosenberg

Dr. Mel Rosenberg is a children's book author and cofounder of www.Ourboox.com, a website and platform for creating interactive picture books. Mel's debut picture book in North America, EMILY SAW A DOOR, will be published by Penguin Random House in February, 2026 and is available for pre-order. He is represented by the Liza Royce Literary Agency.

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