Linda Salem Marlow's passion for weaving words began before preschool when she dictated stories to her mom on their turquoise typewriter. Linda still spends her days creating tales of family and love inspired by her father, a son of Lebanese immigrants, and her mother, a coal miner's daughter from the hills of eastern Kentucky.

Linda has published four leveled readers with Heinemann, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This dive into educational publishing perfectly aligned with her career as a first-grade teacher and award-winning educator with over 25 years of experience, including time teaching creative writing at an elementary school of the arts. More than anything, Linda loves motivating reluctant learners through engaging lessons and powerful stories.

When she's not teaching or writing picture books and middle grade novels, you'll find her weed-deep in her garden or cooking (usually) yummy meals. She grew up in West Virginia and now lives in south Florida with her family. She is thrilled to be represented by Joyce Sweeney.