Hello there! Thanks for stopping by!

I’m Mae Respicio (Listen here for how to pronounce it! 😊) This pic is of me in my Northern California bowl-cut days. (I’ve tortured my kids with this same hairdo, btw.) As with most things in my life, this website is a work-in-progress. For non-spammy news and the occasional typo, sign up here for my very infrequent newsletter.

Short(ish) but Snazzy(ish) Bio

Mae Respicio is the award-winning author of over 20 books for young readers, including engaging nonfiction and novels that celebrate all the ways that kids find their place in the world. Mae’s books have received starred reviews, the Asian/Pacific American Library Association Honor Award, been named an NPR Best Book, and have been named to many state-reading and “best book” lists. Her latest, Isabel in Bloom, was praised by The New York Times as a “sweet and heartfelt novel [that] explores how bumpy beginnings can offer chances for new growth.” Mae lives in California with her husband, sons, one rascally dog (Riggs), and sweet pet rats (Popcorn and Crash).

Rambling Bio

Mae is author of the middle grade novels The House That Lou Built, Any Day With You, and How to Win a Slime War (out September 2021). She is the past recipient of a PEN Emerging Voices Fellowship and has been a writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Her writing & photography has been featured in many print (remember print?!) and online publications including Pregnancy Magazine, Working Mother Magazine, Patagonia, Pottery Barn Kids, Red Tricycle and The Bigger the Better the Tighter the Sweater: 21 Funny Women on Beauty, Body Image, and Other Hazards of Being Female (Seal Press), and she worked with the Filipino-American community of Los Angeles to edit the nonfiction book Images of America: Filipinos in Los Angeles (Arcadia Publishing). For nearly a decade, Mae also worked at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, developing, implementing, and overseeing top notch literary events, creative and screenwriting courses, and helping to build a thriving literary community. She lives with her family in the suburban wild of Northern California with her husband and sons, their rascally dog, and two very smart pet rats.

Ginzu Steak Knives Bio

Mae lives with her human and furry family (one rascally dog named Riggs and many pet rats over the years including Bubbie, Mochi, Ube, Popcorn, Yogi, and Crash) in the suburban wilds of Northern California.

In addition to middle grade novelist Mae has had many fun jobs including:

• Assistant to 2 Academy-Award Nominated Directors

• Worst Waitress Ever

• Magazine-Telemarketer-and-Seller-of-Ginzu-Steak-Knives (remember magazines?)

• Film Studio Video Tape Cataloguer (remember video tapes?)

• Fancy Hollywood Screenwriter and Director’s Assistant

• Studio Coverage Writer

• Corporate Communications Writer

• On-Air Promotions Writer (NBC Burbank and KCRA Sacramento)

• Parenting Website Community Editor (Red Tricycle)

• After-School Writing Teacher (PEN in the Classroom)

• UCLAx Creative Writing Program Administrator.

• Mom to 2 awesome teen boys (this one’s her fave!)