Called a “born storyteller” by the media, Marsha Diane Arnold is a multi-award-winning picture book author whose books have been called “heartwarming” and “uplifting.” She loves bringing joy to her readers and helping them discover nature and wildlife. Her books have won honors ranging from Smithsonian Notable Book to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and have sold over one million copies.
Recent titles include Badger’s Perfect Garden, awarded the Florida Book Awards Bronze Medal, the bilingual Galápagos Girl/Galapagueña, a Bank Street Best Book and Campoy-Ada honor book, and Lights Out, a Golden Kite finalist, praised by the Dark Sky community.
Marsha’s latest book, Armando’s Island, is a “song” to nature and a call to respect earth’s animals and keep them safe It has been honored with the 2024 John Burroughs Association’s Riverby Award, the Florida Book Awards Silver Medal, the 2024 Green Earth Book Award, and the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award.
Her upcoming book is the non-fiction Big Boy 4014 and the Steam Team: The World’s Biggest Locomotive Roars Back to Life! The book follows Big Boy’s “against all odds” journey – rescue from the scrapyard to half a century in an outdoor train museum to restoration.
Marsha grew up in rural Kansas, raised her children in idyllic Northern California, and now lives in the Florida countryside with her husband and dog Sailor, near family. Marsha has enjoyed traveling the world, scuba diving, horseback riding, line-dancing, gardening, and hiking. She especially enjoys visiting schools to talk about writing and her books and reading to her grandchildren.
Marsha is represented by Karen Grencik.
