Kristi Holl is an award-winning author of 34 books for children, one nonfiction book for writers, and over 150 stories and articles for children and adults, as well as conference speaker and web editor. Her stories and articles have appeared in Jack and Jill, Child Life, Hi-Call, Your Life & Health, Touch, The Writer, Children's Writer, and the SCBWI Bulletin, among others. She also wrote a mystery column and self-coaching column for the magazine Once Upon a Time.

Kristi Holl was born in Iowa, graduated from Marshalltown High School and has lived in Mason City, Cedar Falls, Red Oak, Knoxville, Conrad, and Story City (all in Iowa). In July 2003, she moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she and her husband live near two of their daughters and their families.

Kristi started as an elementary teacher after graduating from the University of Northern Iowa in l974, and began writing as a hobby when staying home with her children. She has taught writing for children for the Institute of Children's Literature since l983. In l998 she created and became Web Editor for the Institute's web site at www.institutechildrenslit.com where she monitored Open Forums, wrote articles for the Writer's Support Rooms and Writing Tips, and moderated online interviews with editors and writers. In 2000 she added web editing for the Long Ridge Writers Group web site at www.longridgewritersgroup.com. She retired as web editor in 2002.  She now spends the majority of her time writing books. She also has a small number of Institute students, does freelance editing for Zonderkidz/Zondervan Publishing, does manuscript critiques, and speaks at writers' conferences.

Kristi has always combined writing with parenting; personal experiences figure prominently in her 150+ stories and articles for magazines, as well as her 29 novels and 5 nonfiction books for middle graders, plus her adult nonfiction book for writers, Writer’s First Aid. In her spare time, she loves to read, quilt, canoe, visit museums and historical sites, and hike.

Her books are on many recommended reading lists and have been nominated for numerous Children's Choice Awards. Her first book, Just Like a Real Family, was nominated for children's book awards in five states; it and its sequel, No Strings Attached, both were released in Japan in l996 and l997. The Rose Beyond the Wall was on the Children's Book Council list of Outstanding Books for l985, and The Haunting of Cabin l3 won the l990 Maryland Children's Book Award. Two of her books, Footprints Up My Back and Perfect or Not, Here I Come, were Junior Literary Guild selections. In 2000 and 2001 four novels were published in Tommy Nelson's TodaysGirls.com books, including Tangled Web, Chat Freak, Fun e-Farm, and 4GIVE & 4GET.  Most recently, four best-selling middle grade devotionals were published by Zonderkidz:  No Boys Allowed (2004), Girlz Rock (2005), Chick Chat and Shine On, Girl! (2006). Another devotional, What’s a Girl To Do? was published in September, 2007. A mystery series (Fading Tracks, Secrets for Sale, Smoke Screen, and Pick Your Poison) is due for publication by Zonderkidz, spring, 2008.

"After my children started school, I intended to go back to teaching elementary school, but being your own boss and setting your own work hours is just too much fun. How else can you get paid for staying home and making up stories?" Holl asks. "I love Iowa, and sometimes use Iowa settings for my novels, especially the mysteries. The Haunting of Cabin l3 is set in Backbone State Park, Danger at Hanging Rock is set at Effigy Mounds National Monument, and the Carousel Mystery Series is set in Story City."