Nikki Shannon Smith is an educator, presenter, and the award-winning author of over 20 published and forthcoming books, ranging from board books to young adult novels. She is the author of the Azaleah Lane chapter book series (Capstone) as well as the board book series Brown Baby Parade (PRH/Crown). Nikki’s work includes two Little Golden Books (Our Beautiful Colors and The Little Christmas Elf), A Star Like Jesse Owens, a Smithsonian Historical Fiction title about the 1936 Olympics, and five titles in Capstone’s multi-author, historical fiction/adventure, middle grade series, Girls Survive. Her Girls Survive title Lena and the Burning of Greenwood was the recipient of the 2023 Oklahoma Book Award in the Young Adult Category. Nikki’s middle grade novel, Stranded, will be released on September 17, 2024 (Scholastic). Several of Nikki’s titles have been celebrated by Amazon Editors’ Picks, Bank Street Best Children’s Books, Chicago Public Library, Boston Public Library, School Library Journal, and Kirkus. Our Beautiful Colors was featured on the cover of The California Reader (A publication of the CA Reading Association, Volume 56, Number 1, Winter 2023).
Nikki holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, a Reading Specialist Credential, an Administrative Services Credential, and a Master of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Instruction: Language and Literacy. Her writing is informed not only by her research and over 30 years in education, but by her child-like curiosity and a deep love for words.
Nikki was born and raised in Oakland, CA. She was a bookish child, who sometimes got in trouble for reading instead of doing chores or homework. She now lives in Woodland, CA, but sneaks away to speak at conferences, professional development workshops, and author visits whenever she can. Nikki is a daydreamer, lover of sweets and scary movies, and frequent visitor of Disneyland. In her spare time, she loves to visit the coast. The first thing she packs in her suitcase is always a book.
