Candice Ransom, represented by Victoria Wells Arms, wrote her first book at age seven out of desperation. She had read all the books for second-graders in her small school library (and wasn't allowed to read any others). One day on the bus, she opened her notebook and wrote, "It was dark.” So began her first novel, involving witches, ghosts, haunted houses, and buried treasure. She scribbled at home and at school, especially during arithmetic. Years passed, but Candice never stopped writing.
All that scribbling has added up to more than 160 books for young people, from board books to YA fiction. Honors include School Library Journal and Booklist starred titles, Book-of-the-Month Club selection, Smithsonian Notable Book, New York Public Library Best 100 Books, William Allen White runner-up, and Texas Bluebonnet Master List, among many others. Her most recent titles include Bones in the White House (a Junior Library Guild Selection, illustrated by Jamey Christoph and published by Penguin Random House) about Jefferson’s obsession with discovering ancient bones, and many Step into Reading titles. Candice teaches in the children’s literature graduate program at Hollins University and lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
