Jahnna N. Malcolm is the pen name of Jahnna Beecham, born March 30, 1953 in Wichita, Kansas, and Malcolm Hillgartner, born February 4, 1952 in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are American authors of over 130 works of juvenile and young adult fiction, most notably the series "The Jewel Kingdom", and "Bad News Ballet". They also wrote the best-selling juvenile horror books "Scared Stiff" and "Scared to Death". They have won several awards including a Parent's Choice award. Their books have been translated into French, Italian, Indonesian, Polish, Spanish and Norwegian.
Background
Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner met in 1978, when they were actors with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. They were married March 2, 1981 on the stage of the Empty Space Theatre in Seattle, Washington. Robert Fulghum, author of “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” and a Unitarian minister, performed the ceremony. Throughout their lives they have continued to work in regional and international theatre as actors, directors, and playwrights. Malcolm is also a well received audiobook narrator. Beecham wrote her first book, “See the USA With Your Resume” with Zoaunne LeRoy and Adale O’Brien. She and Malcolm began their writing collaboration while Jahnna was writing five Sweet Dreams romances. When Scholastic published Beecham and Hillgartner’s first book series written together, Bad News Ballet, they chose the pen name Jahnna N. Malcolm, because as Hillgartner said : “That’s what everyone calls us. And it’s easier for kids to remember one name.” Beecham and Hillgartner have a son, Dashiell, born in Salem, Virginia in 1989, and a daughter, Skye, born in Kalispell, Montana in 1991. Their parenting experiences resulted in the humorous parenting column, The Jahnna and Malcolm Show: A Family Journal, which appeared weekly in Sesame Street Parents Magazine and CTW Online in 1999. The columns were eventually combined in the book “I'm Counting to 10...”, which won a Parent's Choice Silver Honor in 2001. Since 1994 they have lived in southern Oregon, where they continue to write books for readers of all ages and musicals. Their musicals, Chaps! and ' are published by Samuel French. Their most recent musical, premiered at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Wisconsin on November 14, 2009.
Awards
Burbank International Children's Film Festival 2001: Best Drama- “The Ruby Princess Runs Away”
Parent’s choice 2001: Non-Fiction Silver Honor- "I’m Counting to Ten…"
Audiofile Earphones award: Malcolm Hillgartner's narration of "Cheever: a Life" by Blake Bailey
Book Series
Bad News Ballet
Drat! We're Rats!, original title, The Terrible Tryouts
