Laura Shovan’s middle grade novel-in-verse, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, debuts in 2016 from Wendy Lamb Books. After graduating from NYU’s Dramatic Writing Program, she taught high school, worked as a freelance journalist, and now works with teens with learning differences. Laura is editor of two poetry anthologies and author of the Harriss Poetry Prize-winning chapbook, Mountain, Log, Salt, and Stone. Her poetry has been published in many literary magazines. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Maryland Writers Association, and the Author’s Guild. Laura has been a Maryland State Arts Council Artist-in-Education for poetry since 1999.