Author and artist, Janine Layton Kimmel, is the mother of two sons and resides in Locust, New Jersey. She is a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science in human development and a Master’s degree in transpersonal studies. She travels frequently giving workshops for children emphasizing the connection between nature and creativity, inspiring imaginations
She has also worked with students to improve interracial and intercultural understanding through the ‘Project Writing Link,’ a federally funded grant program.
Kimmel’s art has been described as having a visionary quality suggesting an altered magical reality where lush blossoming vines, vibrant colorful forests, and luminous animals and birds will “invite” you into their world.
Kimmel’s first book, The Magic Gown, won six awards including Book of the Year in 2009 for ages 8-12, Creative Child Magazine.
In 2011, a grant from the Angeles Arrien Foundation for Cross-Cultural Research and Education was awarded to send each child at The Thai Freedom House in Chiang Mai, Thailand a copy of The Magic Gown and her original Magic Doorway Booklet. The Thai Freedom House is a community language and arts learning center for refugees from Burma and Indigenous Peoples. The donation was in honor of Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi for her courage, elegance and unyielding determination to stand by her principles of human dignity.
Her latest young adult fiction, co-created with Italian artist and author David Ceccarelli, The Yawning Rabbit River Chronicle, was released in September 2012. It has been awarded a Nautilus Silver Award 2013 for YA Fiction, Book of the Year 2013 for Fiction Adventure, Creative Child Magazine, and a VOYA Perfect Ten Title 2012. "This story will make life-long readers of youth not previously committed to reading." - VOYA
Kimmel has a private transpersonal and wellness counseling therapy practice in Red Bank, NJ.
