Celeste Davidson Mannis
149 S. Barrington Avenue, #507
Los Angeles, California 90049
Home: (310) 454-3437
Cell: (310) 625-3384
CAREER FOCUS: Children’s Literature. Create high quality works of literature while
pursuing opportunities to utilize creative and editorial skills within the educational and publishing
communities.
Experience Summary
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Award winning, Los Angeles Times Bestselling children’s book author and photographer,
with fiction and non-fiction picture book and chapter book titles in social sciences,
environmental science, mathematics, poetry, and biography.
English Instructor: Develop and teach coursework at university level.
Public Speaker: create and present literature-based programs for museums, schools,
libraries and booksellers.
Extensive publishing experience as author and illustrator: concept development, creation
and revision of manuscripts, line editing, art direction, promotion, sales and marketing.
Free-lance editor: preparation of manuscripts for submission to publishers, from
development to editing, line editing and presentation.
Reader: review and critique manuscripts for publishers.
Excellent research and writing skills
Education
M.A.T., Secondary English and New Media, University of Southern California,
November, 2014
M.A., Business Administration, Marketing, University of Southern California
B.A., History, University of Southern California
B.A., History of Art, University of Southern California
Coursework, University of London
Professional Experience
English Instructor – 2011- Present
UC Berkeley, Extension. Revised all materials for 3-unit university course entitled: The
Golden Age of Children’s Literature. Teach three terms per year, online.
Author –
2002-Present
Millions of Mooncakes, Walker Books for Young Readers
Fall 2014
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A counting book exploration of place numbers from one to one million through the use of
haiku and an abacus. Set against the background of Tsukimi, the Japanese harvest moon
festival.
When it’s Midnight in London, Walker Books for Young Readers,
Fall 2014
A picture book “snapshot” of twenty-four different time zones, as experienced by
cultures around the world, during one minute in time.
Who Was William Shakespeare? Grosset & Dunlap
December 2006
A middle grade biography for the acclaimed Who Was…? Biography series.
Scholastic Book Club selection, October 2006
Over 160,000 copies sold.
Electronic and audio editions.
Recently translated into Chinese.
Julia Morgan Built a Castle, Viking Children’s Books
October 2006
Picture book biography of Julia Morgan, the groundbreaking woman
architect who created William Randolph Hearst’s majestic estate, San
Simeon. Project required extensive research in library archives.
Junior Library Guild Premiere Selection, spring 2007
Beatty Award, California Library Association, 2007
Snapshots: the Wonders of Monterey Bay, Viking Children’s Books
May 2006
Text and photography for a picture book on the marine animals and
coastal ecosystem of Monterey Bay, California.
Southern California Children’s Literature Council, Outstanding Achievement in Non
Fiction, 2007
Eureka! List, California Library Association, 2007
Cornerstones of Science Award, Nominee, 2007
Southern California Booksellers Association Award, Best Children’s Book, 2006
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review, 2006
School Library Journal, Starred Review, 2006
School Library Journal, Hot Pick, October, 2006 .
The Queen’s Progress, an Elizabethan Alphabet, Viking Children’s Books, May 2003
Picture biography of England’s Queen Elizabeth I.
Children’s Literature Choice List, 2004
Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts, National Council
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of Teachers of English, 2004
CBC-Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2004
PBS Teacher Source Recommended Book, 2004
School Library Journal, Starred Review
One Leaf Rides the Wind, Viking Children’s Books, September 2002
A counting book set in a Japanese garden.
International Reading Association Award, Best Picture Book, 2003
Parents Choice Award, Story Book, 2003
NCSS Notable Trade Book, 2003
PBS Teacher Source Recommended Book, 2003
Junior Library Guild Premiere Selection, Fall 2002
Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review, 2002
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review, 2002
Public Speaker − 2002-Present
The Huntington Library and Gardens, Southern California Children’s Literature
Council, Southern California Booksellers Association, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Hearst
Castle, Storyopolis, Dutton’s Books, Mrs. Nelson’s Books, Carlthorpe School,
Brentwood School, Children’s Book World, and others. Programming and presentations.
Reader – 2010-2013
Review, rank and critique manuscripts for Memoir Journal, a literary
magazine.
Professional Affiliations
American Library Association, Author’s Guild, Children’s Authors’ Network (CAN),
International Reading Association, NCTE, Society for Children’s Book Writers and
Illustrators, Southern California Children’s Literature Council, Westside Writers Guild.
Writing Samples and Recommendations Available.
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