Elissa Brent Weissman is the award-winning author of several middle grade novels, including The Length of a String, the Nerd Camp series, and the editor of Our Story Begins, an anthology of writing and art by today's kids' book creators back when they were kids themselves. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and earned a master's degree in children's literature at the University of Roehampton in London. After spending many years in Baltimore, where she taught creative writing to children, college students, and adults and was named one of CBS Baltimore's Best Authors in Maryland, Elissa currently lives with her family in Christchurch, New Zealand.