Thornton Blease wants to live in a world where horses, dragons, and mermaids roam free, and everyone can reach their fullest potential.

As a teen, Thornton won 26 gold keys and three National titles from Scholastic's Teen Art and Writing Awards and has been published in Scholastic's Teens' Best Writing. As a young adult, he is a judge for the same awards.

He has a BA from Sarah Lawrence and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from The New School.

Conferences allow him to travel the country to hone his craft and encourage children, especially those with (dis)abilities to read and write. Thornton is a proud and active member of the SCBWI. 12X12 and GLVWG. He has also attended the competitive Southampton Children's Literature Conference, VCFA Writing for Young Peoples Retreat and Highlights.

Thornton has been published in Scholastic's Teens' Best Writing, The Underground, River of Words, Rewriting the Past Anthology, and CSA Journals.

Growing up in rural Stewartsville, NJ, Thornton jokes about being born in an animal hospital/shelter. Not quite. But he has learned about love, devotion, sorrow, and cruelty from his experiences at the clinic. He lives with his rescue cats, dogs, horse, and donkeys.

Thornton was published in Writes of Passage 2021 (an anthology) that was the BOOKFEST WINNER. He also won a Gold (WINGFINGER) and a SILVER (The Rise of Ninja Cat) Royal Palm Literary Award October 2022 for an unpublished manuscript.