About Me

Heather Ferranti Kinser ~ Picture Book Author
Inform, Delight, and Shine a Light!

Quick Bio ~ Heather Ferranti Kinser writes at the intersection of story, poetry, and nature from her home on the San Francisco Peninsula. She’s a former technical editor who now spends her days writing small stories—to make a big difference for kids!

A Bit More Bio ~
    Heather started writing at age nine when she wandered to where the sidewalk ends, entered a state of literary amazement, and never fully recovered.
     She graduated from Santa Clara University with a bachelor's degree in English (and lots of notebooks filled with poems) and worked 15 years as a proofreader/copy editor for engineering firms. A love of rhythmic language and short writing forms eventually led her to writing picture books, and she's never looked back.
     Heather strives to create high-quality, high-interest, lively & lyrical books for children. Her first three titles offer young readers the language to describe and deepen their innate love of nature.
     Heather lives in the Bay Area with her family and several shelves full of picture books. She is the author of three picture books—IN A CAVE, NATURE IS A SCULPTOR, and SMALL MATTERS—and is represented by Sarah Stephens of Red Fox Literary.

See the SMALL MATTERS book trailer!

Good News

Recipient of 2021 Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award in the category "transitional nonfiction"—for SMALL MATTERS
SMALL MATTERS made Melissa Stewart's list My 10(ish) Favorite STEM books of 2020
My humorous spooky poem "Stage Fright" appeared in the October 2023 issue of Cricket magazine
My humorous historical poem "King Tut Tours His Tomb" was published in the February 2023 issue of Cricket magazine
My humorous poem "One Man Band" will appear in the November 2023 issue of Orbit, from The School Magazine (Australia)
My humorous poem "My Bed's a Boat" will appear in the January 2024 issue of Countdown, from The School Magazine (Australia)
9th place finalist in the 2023 Kids' Choice KidLit Writing Contest, in the picture book category
Madness! Poetry Tournament "Authlete", six years running: Among 64 poets, I survived to compete in the "great eight" match-up in 2018 and made it to the "sweet sixteen" in March 2019 and May 2023
Placed in the 2019 Golden Haiku Competition, Washington D.C.
4th-place in Susanna Leonard Hill's 2020 "Halloweensie" contest [October 2020]
3rd-place in Susanna Leonard Hill's 2017 "Valentiny" contest [February 2017] and 8th-place in the 2017 "Holiday" contest [December 2017]