# 1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller and filmmaker, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists, and many of her novels have been developed into major motion pictures.
With the recent formation of Karen Kingsbury Productions, Karen and her team released their first theatrical feature--Someone Like You--in 2024. The movie received the coveted “Certified Hot” from Rotten Tomatoes for its wildly popular audience rating. Her Baxter Family series was developed into a TV series, “The Baxters,” now playing on Amazon. Karen and her team are currently working on a theatrical Christmas movie for 2025, and their third theatrical film, slated for 2026. She and her husband, Donald, live in Tennessee near their children and grandchildren.
Joanne Lew-Vriethoff is an illustrator and graphic designer born in Malaysia and grew up in Los Angeles. She graduated from Art Center College of Design in 1995. Right after, she worked as a character and concept illustrator for clients pitching television shows. She later spend a few years in New York working as an Art Director and designer before she moved to Amsterdam. For the last 15 years, her passion for illustration has given her the opportunity to illustrate picture books such as Peace Baby and Punctuation Station to Middle grade-novels such as Summerhouse Times and Dancing Pancake. Besides illustrating books, she also illustrates funky websites and product branding for toy companies. Below are some of her most recent projects, Family Grandstand and Family Sabbatical both written by Carol Ryrie Brink (Two Lions), Another Day as Emily by Eileen Spinelli (Random House), Reindeer Dust by Kate Dwyer (Reindeer Dust Inc), Joey Daring Caring and Curious: How a Mischief Maker Uncovers Unconditional Lov by Marcella Marino Craver (Magination Press), Beneath the Bunk by Laurel Snyder (Pearson Digital Studio), Peace, Baby! by Linda Ashman (Chronicle Books LLC), Do You Know Dewey?: Exploring the Dewey Decimal System by Brian P. Cleary (Lerner Publishing Group), The Dancing Pancake by Eileen Spinelli (Yearling), The Punctuation Station by Brian P. Cleary (Lerner Publishing Group), Summerhouse Time by Eileen Spinelli (Yearling) and I'm Big by Milton Schafer (Dial).
