Mindy Blumenfeld and Mark Lumer
Filed under: Authors
Mindy Blumenfeld is a licensed clinical social worker, writer, and motivational speaker who divides her time between her passion for her work and her passion for her family. She first began her writing career when she was in the third grade and wrote a novel about a young slave in Ancient Rome. Despite throwing that draft into the garbage right outside her school when her teacher laughed at her efforts, she couldn't stop writing.
She became a writing teacher, encouraging her students to publish their writing, but it wasn't until her youngest son, six-year-old Hillel, became ill with cancer that she began publishing her experiences, inspiring thousands of people all around the world with her articles. When Hillel went into remission, she created a scrapbook for him to commemorate his journey, and mentioned his imaginary friends, Hilly, Pilly, Shimmy, and Shmaya. These indefatigable quadruplets who helped him through his hospital stay and treatment, took center stage in her book, Hillel and the Paper Menschies, brought to life by the remarkable Marc Lumer.
Today, Mindy continues to write, speak, and counsel clients. She is the author of two more books. Therapy, Shmerapy is a collection of essays demystifying therapy for therapists and clients. Her YA book, Short but Lived, is a true account of Hillel's journey with cancer, which by turns is funny and sad. She also has an upcoming book to be published in March, a collection of inspirational essays. Visit her website to learn more about her work, see videos of interviews, and read her articles. Connect to her on LinkedIn.
Marc Lumer is an animator, children's book writer-illustrator and graphic artist. He worked earlier in his career as a visual development artist for Warner Bros. Television Animation, Dreamworks Feature Animation, Disney Television Animation and Sony Television Animation. He also collaborated with two-time Oscar-winning director Brad Bird on Ratatouille and The Incredibles. Most recently, Marc was producer on the Netflix Original Series Mighty Little Bheem and co-creator of the Amazon Series Kalari Kids. Marc has also written and published twelve children's books, including Benny's Mitzvah Notes, written for his son Benny and selected in 2014 as a notable book of the year by the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee. His books have been translated into French, Hebrew, Spanish and Russian.
Connect to Marc and learn more about his amazing work through his websites and LinkedIn profiles.
Winning Entry: Hillel and the Paper Menschies
Contest Won: North Street Book Prize 2024, Honorable Mention
