Jolene Gutiérrez, author

Jolene grew up on a farm, surrounded by animals, plants, and history. She is an award-winning neurodivergent teacher-librarian and has been working with neurodivergent learners at Denver Academy since 1995. She holds a Master’s degree in Library Science. She’s a wife of 25+ years and mama to two young adults, three dogs, two cats, and an ever-rotating variety of other animals including a crested gecko, a ferret, and a rescue squirrel. She’s an active member of SCBWI, a We Need Diverse Books mentorship finalist, a Writing with the Stars mentee, a Highlights Foundation scholarship winner, and the winner of the Cynthia Levinson nonfiction picture book biography scholarship to the Writing Barn. She’s an active member of KidLit Collective and co-creator of Picture Book Gold and #KidlitZombieWeek. 

Jolene is the author of picture books TOO MUCH! AN OVERWHELMING DAY, illustrated by Angel Chang (Abrams, 2023), THE OFRENDA THAT WE BUILT, co-authored with her daughter, Shaian Gutiérrez, and illustrated by Gabby Zapata (Chronicle, 2024), MAMIACHI AND ME, co-authored with her son, Dakota Gutiérrez, and illustrated by Mirelle Ortega (Abrams, 2025), and UNBREAKABLE: A JAPANESE AMERICAN FAMILY IN AN AMERICAN INCARCERATION CAMP, co-authored with Minoru Tonai and illustrated Chris Sasaki (Abrams, 2026), MAC AND CHEESE AND THE PERSONAL SPACE INVADER, a nonfiction middle grade book, BIONIC BEASTS: SAVING ANIMAL LIVES WITH ARTIFICIAL FLIPPERS, LEGS, AND BEAKS, and the biographical 4-book series STARS OF LATIN POP: SHAKIRA, OZUNA, J BALVIN, and SOFÍA REYES.  Jolene is represented by Kaitlyn Sanchez. Learn more at www.jolenegutierrez.com.