Colleen AF Venable

You might know me from such films as "Colleen's Fourth Birthday Party" and "Colleen Falls Down Over and Over Again While Ice Skating."

Fun facts!

-I have a huge connect-the-dots tattoo.

-I accidentally started an international holiday.

(See National Pancake Day or Lumberjack Day, every Sept 26)

-I once sang back-up on an album nominated for the Polka Grammy.

-I can't sing.

-When I was 18, I broke a national coed jump-rope record.

My debut YA graphic novel Kiss Number 8 was a National Book Award Longlist title, an Eisner nominee, and a Prism award finalist.

My graphic novel series Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye (illustrated by Stephanie Yue) was nominated for an Eisner for Best Publication for Kids and awarded “Best Book” recognition from Kirkus Reviews, NYPL, Bank Street, and the Junior Library Guild.

I grew up in the trees of Walden, New York….well, not very high up the trees, since I always got scared, but I did carve my name in a lot of low hanging boughs. I had an older sister, a dog, a cat, a million fish, and an imaginary pet hamster named, yup you guessed it, Hamisher. Why have an imaginary friend when you can have an imaginary friend that can fit in your pocket!

I went to Wagner College and double majored in English and Studio Art, winning the award of “biggest dork” (aka first in my class)

I love graphic novels more than I love having feet and I really do love having feet. They keep my shoes on.

Pssst My name is actually spelled Colleen AF Venable. No punctuation. My birth name was Colleen Ann Venable, but in 1994 I asked to change my middle name to Felicity, because that's the sort of thing you do when you are 14. So I started to go by Colleen AF...mostly because I was bad at typing periods. The internet either ruined my name or made it SO MUCH COOLER. You can decide.