Suzanne Williams Joan Holub

Joan Holub, born in 1956 in Texas, is a prolific author and illustrator with over 180 books to her name for young readers. She began her career in graphic design, working as an art director for eight years after earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Her passion for children's literature led her to New York City, where she served as an associate art director at Scholastic, gaining experience in book design and collaboration with editors and illustrators. Holub began illustrating her own children's books in 1992 and transitioned to full-time illustration. By the mid-1990s, she started writing and selling her own manuscripts, eventually focusing on writing full-time.

She has penned numerous books, including the math-focused picture book "Zero the Hero" and "Little Red Writing," a playful adaptation of a classic fairytale. Her work "Mighty Dads" achieved New York Times bestseller status. In collaboration with Suzanne Williams, Holub has co-created several popular middle-grade series. These include "The Goddess Girls," which reimagines Greek goddesses as students at Mount Olympus Academy, and "Grimmtastic Girls," featuring female protagonists from fairy tales attending Grimm Academy. They also co-authored "Heroes in Training," an adventure series about young Greek gods and their battles with Titans.

Joan Holub's extensive career spans both illustration and writing, with a significant body of work dedicated to children's literature. Her journey into publishing began after a period as an art director in graphic design, leading her to Scholastic where she honed her skills in children's book design. Holub's solo writing career took off in the mid-1990s, leading to works like "Zero the Hero," which explores mathematical concepts through a narrative featuring the number zero, and "Little Red Writing," a reimagining of a familiar fairytale with a literary twist. Her picture book "Mighty Dads" gained notable recognition as a New York Times bestseller. Holub also utilizes pen names, including Rita Book and Brad Bucks, for some of her work.

In partnership with Suzanne Williams, Joan Holub has developed several successful series aimed at middle-grade readers. "The Goddess Girls" series, targeted at ages 8-12, presents well-known Greek goddesses such as Athena, Persephone, and Aphrodite as students at a fictional Mount Olympus Academy, exploring various subjects with mythological themes. The series began in 2010 with "Athena the Brain." Another collaborative effort is "Heroes in Training," launched in 2012, which focuses on the early lives of Olympian gods like Zeus and Poseidon as they face the Titans. This series operates within a distinct narrative universe from "The Goddess Girls." Additionally, they created the "Grimmtastic Girls" series, starting in 2014, which centers on female characters from classic fairy tales attending a co-educational school. A younger-skewing series, "Little Goddess Girls," also draws from Greek mythology for readers aged 6-9.