For all publishing inquiries, please contact my agent:

Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Starling Literary + Media

jemiscoe@starlingliterary.com

Tessa is an author, illustrator, and all-around nature nerd from coastal North Carolina, where she lives with her husband and their pup, Ahi.  She is a self-taught artist who came to children’s books through a winding, nontraditional path.  After graduate school, she spent several years working as a marine biologist in South Carolina.  This work fostered her love of the natural world and gave her a lasting appreciation for workdays that left her a little sunburnt and caked in pluff mud. 

For Tessa, art and science have always gone hand in hand, and she began teaching herself to illustrate in her free time as a creative outlet alongside her scientific work.  What started as a hobby, quickly grew into a career opportunity she knew she had to explore. Today, she brings the skills, knowledge, and insight from her background in marine science into her storytelling, offering a unique perspective within the children’s book world.

In addition to her Earth-minded narrative, her work is also a nod to her childhood days spent scouring the woods for The Magic Treehouse and devouring Calvin and Hobbes comics.  She is passionate about creating art that dares kids to celebrate their differences and be bold in accepting their quirks.  She hopes her stories and illustrations inspire kids, both current and grown, to look under rocks, stay curious, embrace adventure, and develop a lifelong appreciation for the outdoors.