Mary Rand Hess

Mary Rand Hess is a poet, playwright, screenwriter, digital series writer, composer, mixed-media artist, and New York Times bestselling author of notable and award-winning books, such as the young adult novels in verse, Solo and Swing, coauthored with Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander; The One and Only Wolfgang: From Pet Rescue to One Big Happy Family, written with Steve Greig of @wolfgang2242 Instagram fame; Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures, also coauthored with Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido; Little Larry Goes to School, penned with renowned photographer and great ape expert Gerry Ellis; and The Day I Met The Nuts—a popular food allergy and advocacy story. Some of her forthcoming works include her SEL picture books Belong (Clarion) and Quiet is Strength (Rocky Pond Books), as well as The Healing Place (Scholastic), written with Angel Tyree, and the innovative, multi-media series Mini-Musical Tales from Bird Mountain School, created with songwriter and author Randy Preston.

Mary loves collaborative arts and has written a screenplay for Disney+, and five of the ten episodes for the kid’s digital live action/animated series WordPlay for Age of Learning. She also recently executive produced the children’s digital series Songbook for the Kennedy Center, and is the co-playwright for the smash-hit musical Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie Starring Indigo Blume, which she created with Randy Preston and Kwame Alexander. She is a current member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), Dramatists Guild, and the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC (CBG). Mary lives in California with her husband, two sons, and one quirky dog (who loves to sing while she composes on the piano). Whether she’s creating for the page, stage, or screen, she has many stories to dream up and share. Visit Mary at maryrandhess.com to find out more about her books and forthcoming projects.

Represented by: Sera Rivers