About the Author

Publications Conferences and Awards Upcoming Appearances Photos Personal

Valerie Frankel was born at an early age. In order to finance her hobbies of paper napkin collecting and library hopping, she teaches creative writing for children and teens, along with teaching Composition at San Jose State University. She does storytelling for kids and has taught most grades, from kindergarten through high school. Her many short stories and essays have appeared in over eighty anthologies and journals including The Prisoner and Philosophy, Inside Joss’ Dollhouse, Illuminating Torchwood, Rosebud Magazine, and The Oklahoma Review. After earning a B.A. at UC Davis, she became the youngest person ever to receive a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing degree from San Jose State University, an event that has earned her only limited wealth and success. She enjoys dancing, acting, and costuming in what little remains of her spare time, and reads a novel every day, just for fun. She would have gone crazy long ago, except for her collection of singing potatoes.

PUBLICATIONS:

Nonfiction:

From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey through Myth and Legend, ISBN 978-0-7864-4831-9, arriving July 2010. More info.

Novels:

Henry Potty and the Pet Rock: An Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody More info

Henry Potty and the Deathly Paper Shortage: An Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody More info

Short works in anthologies:

"The Nature of Television" The Prisoner and Philosophy. Forthcoming.

"All Dolled Up: Every Girl's Fantasy." Inside Joss' Dollhouse: From Alpha to Rossum. Edited by Jane Espenson, SmartPop Books. ISBN: 978-1935251989. October 2010.

“Harry Potter and the Rise of Nazism” Racialized Narratives in Children’s Literature, Washington State University.

"The Double-Sided Wardrobe: The Hero’s and Heroine’s Journey Through Narnia" Doors in the Air: C. S. Lewis and the Imaginative World, PortalEditions.

“Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, and Captain Jack Harkness: More than just a Hero’s Journey” & “Gwen’s Evil Stepmother: Concerning Gloves and Magic Slippers” Illuminating Torchwood: Essays on Narrative, Character and Sexuality in the BBC Series (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy), edited by Andrew Ireland, Bournemouth University. McFarland & Company, April 2009.

"To Be Verbs and How Not to Use Them" 2004 Creative Writing/Creative Teaching: Pedagogy Papers. March 2004.

"Tough Alliances" The Kings of the Night. December 2003.

"Real Affection" Wondrous Web Worlds 4. December 2003.

“Star Child” The Best of Scifantastic December 2003.

"A Thief in Need" In the Outposts of Beyond. June 2003.

"Real Affection" Portals. June 2003

"Tea and Company" Legends of the Pendragon. August 2002.

"Gilgamesh" Surfacing. June 2001.

Short works in magazines:

“Reinventing Eve: Bible and Myth Reborn in Harry Potter and His Dark Materials": New Myth vol. 1: The Society for New Language Study, Midwestern State University 2009.

"Darkwitch Rising" Renaissance Magazine. June 2006.

“Gilgamesh” Rosebud Magazine. Spring 2005.

“Sky Girl” Pebble Lake Review. January 2005.

“Dick and Jane Grow Up” The Oklahoma Review. Fall 2004.

“Spirit Shaper” Gryphonwood. Fall 2004.

“Gilgamesh” Riverwalk Journal. January/February 2005.

"One Wish" Story Station. October 2004.

"Gilgamesh" The Writers Publishing. June 2004.

“Child of the Prophecy” Poet’s Haven. April 2004.

"One Wish" Twilight Times. April 2004.

"The Untapped Market" Orchard Valley Review. November 2003.

"Real Affection" Aoife's Kiss. June 2003.

“Star Child” Scifantastic. March 2003.

"Jhara's Tale" Success by Design. March 2003.

“Exile’s Honor” Ambitions. January 2003.

"One Wish." Aoife's Kiss. January 2003.

"A Jewish Journey Through Toledo" Jewish Community News of San Jose. March 2001.

"Gilgamesh" Seele, the UC Davis Literary Journal. May 2000.

“Brightly Burning” Strange Horizons. October 2000.

"One Wish." Spellbound Magazine. Fall 2000

"Tattercoats" Fables Magazine. Fall 2000

Reviews:

Express Reviewer, Bookreview.com.

Staff Reviewer, Rambles Cultural Arts, New Pages, Arabella Romances and The Drexel Online Journal.

CONFERENCES AND AWARDS

PAPERS PRESENTED AT CONFERENCES:

Frequent Fiction readings from the Henry Potty series.

"From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine's Journey" Presented at Baycon 2010: It's an Adventure, San Jose, CA. www.baycon.org

"Forever Cycling: The Heroine's Journey in Nature" Presented at Women and Mythology 2010: The Green Goddess, The Association for the Study of Women in Mythology, Bangor, PA, April 23-25, 2010

http://womenandmythology.wordpress.com/2010-conference/

"Why Don't More Girls Carry Swords?" Presented at Sirens: Strong Women in Fantasy. Veil, Colorado, October 2010.

"Worldbuilding Workshop" Presented at Sirens: Strong Women in Fantasy. Veil, Colorado, October 2010.

"Discworld for the Next Generation" Presented at The Discworld Convention, Sept 4-7, 2009, Tempe, AZ, www.nadwcon.org.

"The Hero(ine)'s Journey in Discworld" Presented at The Discworld Convention, Sept 4-7, 2009, Tempe, AZ, www.nadwcon.org.

"Myth in the Discworld" Presented at The Discworld Convention, Sept 4-7, 2009, Tempe, AZ, www.nadwcon.org.

"Draco's Difficult Decision" Presented at Azkatraz 2009: A Harry Potter Symposium, San Francisco, CA, 2009.

"Harry Potter and the Rise of Nazism" Presented at Azkatraz 2009: A Harry Potter Symposium, San Francisco, CA, 2009.

"The Real Hallows: Sex Secrets, Arthurian Artefacts, and Death's Dominion" Presented at Azkatraz 2009: A Harry Potter Symposium, San Francisco, CA, 2009. Related Materials

Harry Potter Parody Reading, San Jose State University, Thursday May 7, 2009.

"Reinventing Eve: Bible and Myth Reborn in Harry Potter and His Dark Materials" International Conference of the Fantastic in the Arts 30, March 18-21, 2009, Orlando, Florida.

“Cordial and Pigtails: The Heroine's Journey in Modern Media” Presented at 2008 Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association Convention, Reno, Nevada, 2008.

“Harry Potter and the Redefinition of the Hero's Journey” Presented at Portus 2008: A Harry Potter Symposium, Dallas, Texas, 2008.

Creating Your Magical World Workshop Presented at Portus 2008: A Harry Potter Symposium, Dallas, Texas, 2008.

“The Horcrux of the Matter: External Souls in Folk Tales, and their Reflections in the 'Harry Potter' Novels” Presented at Prophecy 2007: From Hero to Legend, The Annual Harry Potter Conference, Toronto, 2007.

“Fantasy’s Rebirth: Reconciling the Hero’s and Heroine’s Journeys. ” Presented at Phoenix Rising, The Annual Harry Potter Conference, New Orleans, 2007.

"Chakram and Pigtails: The Heroine's Journey in Modern Media." Presented at the World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, LA, 2006.

“Snatching the Ring from his Finger: The Heroine’s Mythic Journey” Presented at the 41st Annual Comparative Literature Conference, CSU Long Beach, 2006.

“To Be Verbs and How Not to Use Them” Presented at the 2004 Annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference, Chicago, IL 2004.

“Pillars of Strength: Exploring the Male and Female Archetypes” Presented at the 30^th Annual World Fantasy Convention, Tempe, AZ 2004.

Panels (an incomplete sampling):

Baycon 2010, Memorial Day weekend

YA Fiction

Transitioning Readers

Stop Me If You've Heard this One: Popular Tropes

Media Tie-In Fiction

Denvention 3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention, Denver, Colorado, 6 August - 10 August, 2008

Re-Telling Old Stories: The New Fairy Tales

What's New in Science Fiction and Fantasy for Children and Young Adults

The Harry Potter Phenomenon

New Myths for our Times

Westercon 2007
The Hero’s Journey 
The End of Hogwarts As We Know It 
How to Write the BEST First Line 
Where’s the Fun in Eternal Life
Reading

LACon IV: WorldCon 2006
"Harry Potter Goes Forth" 
"Beyond Harry Potter" 
Great First Lines
Mix and Match Writing Challenge
Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy for Children and Young Adults
The Worlds of Oz

Baycon 2006
Adapting Fairy Tales
Images of Women in Fantasy Literature
Performance Storytelling
Battlestar Galactica
Themed Reading - Witches & Warlocks
Language Building
Viking Sagas and Norse Myths

CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Working on a nonfiction book examining Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey and exploring the contrasting heroine’s journey.

Humorous collection of Jewish fiction is nearing completion.

Reinterpretations of classic myth, in the tradition of Grendel or Till We Have Faces.

Parody collection The Knight of a Thousand and One Satires.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

AWP, Association of Writers and Writing Programs

SCBWI, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

SFWA, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

SPAWN, Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network

SPAN, Small Publishers Association of North America

PMA, The Independent Book Publishers Association

Broad Universe

Poets & Writers Directory

HONORS AND AWARDS:

First Place Winner in E-BOOK FICTION National Indie Excellence Awards 2008

National Best Books Awards 2007, Henry Potty and the Pet Rock was an Award-Winning Finalist in the "Children's Novelty & Gift Books" category. Awarded by USA Book News.

Henry Potty and the Pet Rock nominated for Preditors & Editors ^{^TM} Readers' Poll Jan 2006.

"Henry Potty and the Pet Rock" excerpt. Phelan Award 2004 First Prize for humor.

“Tea and Company.” Nominated for 2003 Origin Awards.

“The Fire Rose.” Bestselling author Juliet Marillier's website—Review of the Month Award. June 2002.

"Gilgamesh." Olympiad of the Arts 2000 Honorable Mention.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

PHOTO GALLERIES

PERSONAL:

With all this, who has time for a personal life? Still I enjoy lindy hop, swing, English country, and most other forms of dance. I've done a great deal of acting and I enjoy costuming and playing showtunes on the electric piano. I'm an active member in Silicon Valley Young Adults Division and other local Jewish programs. I'm listed on Facebook, Yahoo, and Livejournal, with blogs, photos, and more. There's also a blog here. I'm single, with no pets and a gigantic bookshelf. Some of the thousands of books I read that I especially enjoyed are in my Recommended Reading section. I also enjoy costuming and bad puns. View my gallery. There I am ▼

Read Henry Potty and the Pet Rock: The Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody