Sneed B. Collard III is the author of almost 100 children’s books, including the 2024 Orbis Pictus winner, Border Crossings. His books span all age groups and genres, from nonfiction picture books and older science books to middle-grade and YA fiction. More than a dozen of his books have been Junior Library Guild selections, and his numerous other awards include the Subaru-AAAS-SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, the Green Earth Book Award, the High Plains Book Award, and the Washington Post-Children’s Book Guild Award for lifetime achievement. His newest titles include the picture book Like No Other: Earth’s Coolest One-of-a-Kind Creatures and the middle-grade science book Defending Nature: How the US Military Protects Threatened and Endangered Species, which earned a starred review from Kirkus.
Sneed grew up with three (yes, three) biologists for parents and graduated with honors in marine biology from UC Berkeley. While forging his writing career, he earned a master’s in scientific instrumentation from UC Santa Barbara and worked for several years as a computer consultant for scientists. Both his nonfiction and fiction rely heavily on in-person experience, and to research his books he has traveled to Central America, the Caribbean, Australia, South America, and the deep sea floor. Sneed is a popular speaker and has visited more than 600 schools in the US and abroad. He may be contacted through his website or the blog he writes with his son, FatherSonBirding.com.
Sneed is represented by Karen Grencik.