Kim Tomsic

Bio

Kim Tomsic (she/her/hers) is an award-winning children’s book author of two picture books, two novels, an upcoming epistolary, and a handful of magazine articles. As a longtime leader in children’s publishing, she has 14 years of experience in navigating the craft and business side of the industry.

Education

Kim earned her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master of Fine Arts in Children’s Literature from Hamline University.

Professional Background

Kim has been published by HarperCollins and Chronicle Books. Her most current release, The Elephants Come Home: The True Story of Seven Elephants, Two People, and One Extraordinary Friendship, won the Norman A. Sugarman Honor, the Comstock-Gág Book Award for best read-aloud, and Pennsylvania’s Keystone to Reading Award. Her next novel, The Truth About 5th Grade, co-written by Reuben award-winning cartoonist Mark Parisi, will be released with HarperCollins in August 2024. She has spent more than a decade serving her writing community and spent three years as the co-Regional Advisor for the Rocky Mountain Chapter (Colorado and Wyoming) of the SCBWI, a professional writing organization that focuses on the craft of writing and the business of children’s publishing.

Teaching Philosophy

Kim loves children’s literature, writing, and helping others develop and polish their creative visions. She was once that new writer with hope in her heart and finds it deeply gratifying to help others learn and embrace craft, so that they can deconstruct the secret tricks and tips that make a story delightful. Kim cares about diversity (she serves as a mentor for diverse writers), inclusion, and providing a safe space for all students to learn, stretch, and grow. She recognizes that there are a variety of learning styles and is ready to help you succeed. Her goal is to help you learn craft, shed self-doubt, and trust that if you are willing to bravely lay down your ideas, you will give yourself the opportunity to move from stiff to whimsy, from stilted to flow.