melissa gardner

For all inquiries KidLit related, please get in touch with my agent, Sandra Proudman at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency.

When I was a little kid, I was always creating things. I remember making an entire family of bunny rabbits, complete with handsewn dresses, out of empty eggshells and cotton balls. I remember molding bits of clay and wood together to make teeny, tiny mouse houses that I would place all around my room. Most of of all, I remember the countless hours, laying on my bedroom floor, pouring over images from artists I loved. During those hours, Maurice Sendak and Gustav Klimt ‘taught’ me how to paint, as I copied their works over and over- determined to reproduce the brilliance I saw. 

The funny thing is, that even though I deeply loved creating, I never imagined that art could be anything other than a well loved hobby. So I grew up, got married, got a dog, went to grad school and eventually started a psychotherapy practice in Boston, Massachusetts. I loved being a therapist because I loved helping people feel better, but I also felt a lot of stress and concern for many of my patients. The more stressful my work became, the more art I created on the side. Then 2018 came around, and my husband and I decided to take our family on a year long sabbatical.

We packed up our belongings, rented out our condo and started an adventure that went from Switzerland, to Italy, to NYC, to Oregon and then we landed in California. All that travel and family time helped me reimagine my life and I finally embraced the inner creative in me. So, in 2019, I closed up my psychotherapy practice and we permanently moved to the West Coast of the US, where I became a full time artist, illustrator and storyteller.

Now, I live in the glorious and rainy Pacific Northwest, with my husband, my two kids, our three dogs, and our 6 chickens. Most days, you can find me in my studio, painting and drawing, sipping coffee or tea, and taking frequent breaks to give my dogs all the scritches they desire.  

Although the pandemic slowed my artmaking down temporarily (especially when my kids needed to be homseschooled!) I’ve still had wonderful opportunities to partner with others to make beautiful creations. My most recent collaborations have been with SCBWI, Cricket Media/Spider Magazine, the San Franscisco Symphony, Jehane Ltd and Nice Dog Books.