Teachers & Writers Collaborative

Olivia Birdsall

Olivia is the second of 10, that’s right 10, children. She began writing stories when she realized that the tales she wanted to tell took up more than her allotted time at the dinner table. The discovery that through writing she could describe and understand not only her own world and experiences, but those beyond her own, continues to compel Olivia to write, and to teach and encourage others to write.

A former reading and literacy teacher in the Washington, DC, New York City, and New Jersey areas, Olivia now satisfies her passion for literature, writing, and teaching by working as a teaching artist for the Teachers & Writers Collaborative, and as an instructor in the Expository Writing Program at New York University, where she also teaches creative writing in the university’s summer program in London.

Olivia enjoys writing everything from poems to essays to recipes, and is currently working on her second novel and a book of short stories. An avid traveler and wanderer, Olivia has lived in places as exotic as Ecuador, Idaho, and Israel, and currently calls New York City home.

• MFA, New York University, 2005
• BA cum laude, Brigham Young University, 2001

• Notes on a Near-Life Experience, Delacorte Press, 2007
• Chloe’s Cracker Caper, Pearson Educational Publishing, Waterford Educational Suite, 2004
• Paint by Number, Pearson Educational Publishing, Waterford Educational Suite, 2004
• “The Celebritization of Poetry,” Popular Culture Association National Conference, San Antonio, TX, 2004

• Winner, Delacorte Press Prize for a First Young Adult Novel, 2005
• Excellence in Teaching Award, New York University Expository Writing Program, 2002, 2003, 2004
• Grant Recipient, Organization for Research and Creative Activities (ORCA), Brigham Young University, 2000