Dandi won her first writing contest as a 10-year-old tomboy. Her 50 words on "Why I Want to Be Batboy for the Kansas City A's" won first place, but the team wouldn't let a girl be batboy. It was her first taste of rejection.

Since then, Dandi Daley Mackall has published over 400 books for children and grown-ups, with sales of 4 million in 22 countries.

Dandi has held a humorist column and served as freelance editor. She's a frequent guest on radio talk shows, has hosted over 200 radio phone-in programs, and made dozens of appearances on TV, including ABC, NBC, and CBS. She was an instructor for Highlights conference and the Institute of Children's Literature. Dandi conducts writing assemblies and workshops across the U.S. and keynotes at conferences and Young Author events. She writes from rural Ohio--with husband, Joe, children--Jen, Katy, and Dan--horses, dogs, & cats.