Official bio:
Wendy Parris grew up in the Midwest loving books and hoping to glimpse a ghost. After graduating from Northwestern University, she acted in Chicago storefront theaters, performed improv comedy, and freelanced in public relations. Now she writes spooky novels for kids. She is the author of JLG Gold Standard Selection Field of Screams (Delacorte Press, 2023) and 2025 Illinois Reads pick Stage Fright (Delacorte Press, 2024). A veteran panel presenter and moderator, Wendy spoke on the benefits of middle grade horror at both the 2025 American Library Association Annual Conference and the 2025 National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention.
Member of:
—Author's Guild
—Society of Childrens' Book Authors and Educators
—Association of Writers and Writing Programs
—Horror Writers' Association
She's also involved with two traditionally published middle grade author groups that work with educators (sharing resources, doing virtual school visits, etc.)
https://spookymiddlegrade.com/
https://middlegradebookparade.com/
Further Background:
My love of mysteries and ghost stories can be traced back to my childhood growing up in the small city of Waterloo, Iowa. One spring morning when I was seven years old, my mom declared I was ready to read "big books" all by myself. She ushered me into our attic, pointed at three boxes of novels from her childhood, and told me to pick whichever one I wanted. Thrilled, I immediately zeroed in on the Nancy Drew mysteries. I chose The Haunted Bridge...and barely stopped reading for the next five years. In fact, I wrote eleven chapters of my own book called Mystery at Meadow Winds when I was in fifth grade. (My mom recently found the battered spiral notebook containing that book!)
Storytelling of all kinds has always interested me. As a kid, and later as a teenager in Columbus, Ohio, I took voice lessons and performed in plays and musicals. I studied theater at Northwestern University before I switched majors to radio/television/film. After graduation, I acted in small Chicago storefront theaters, improvised with comedy troupes, and freelanced in public relations (back then my name was Wendy Langlas). I got married, had two kids, and adored reading books aloud to them. Once my children were in middle school, I decided to concentrate on my childhood love of mysteries and scary stories—and write stories for kids. Today I live in Illinois with my family in an old house built more than a hundred years ago. I haven't actually SEEN a ghost...but I'm still looking.
I can be found on Instagram at @wendyparrisauthor and @wendyparrisauthor on BlueSky!