Namm, Diane

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Namm, Diane

PERSONAL:

Born in New York, NY. Education: State University of New York at Binghamton, B.A. (with honors); University of Michigan, M.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA. E-mail—dianenamm@aol.com.

CAREER:

Writer and director. Grosset & Dunlap, New York, NY, editorial assistant; children#x0027;s book editor for publishers Simon & Schuster and Macmillan Educational Company; West of Broadway theater company, Santa Monica, CA, founder. Member of Promenade Playhouse (Santa Monica, CA) board of directors, and University of Michigan English department advisory board.

MEMBER:

Authors Guild, Authors League of America.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Television Movie Writers Workshop Award, American Film Institute, for Warrior Queen.

WRITINGS:

"DOCTOR DOLITTLE BEGINNING CLASSICS READERS" SERIES

Animal Talk, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

The Circus Crocodile, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Doctor Dolittle's Great Adventure, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

Doctor Dolittle's Magical Cure, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

"JUNGLE BOOK BEGINNING CLASSICS READERS" SERIES

Rikki Tikki Tavi Moves In, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Rikki and the Mystery in the Garden, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Mowgli's Big Birthday, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

Mowgli Knows Best, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

"LAUGH-A-LONG READERS" SERIES

What Did the Egg Say to the Cook?, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

What Is Worse Than a Snake in Your Bathtub?, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

When Is a Teacher Like a Volcano?, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

What Goes from Z to A?, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

"MICKEY'S YOUNG READERS LIBRARY" SERIES

Minnie's Giant Plan, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Scrooge and the Golden Eggs, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Mickey's Magic Bottle, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Mickey and the Troll, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1990.

"MY FIRST READERS" SERIES

My Best Friend, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Pick a Pet, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Guess Who? Children's Press (New York, NY), 2004.

OTHER CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Mickey's Drill-a-Day Books, four volumes, Little Simon (New York, NY), 1985.

Favorite Nursery Rhymes, Little Simon (New York, NY), 1985.

Baby's First Record Book, Little Simon (New York, NY), 1985.

Dennis the Menace Takes the Cake, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1987.

First Book of Numbers, Checkerboard Press (New York, NY), 1987.

First Book of Shapes, Checkerboard Press (New York, NY), 1987.

First Book of Baby Animals, Checkerboard Press (New York, NY), 1987.

First Book of Cars and Trucks, Checkerboard Press (New York, NY), 1987.

Here's Snoopy! Golden Books (New York, NY), 1988.

We're Busy, Charlie Brown! Golden Books (New York, NY), 1988.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (original adaptation), Golden Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Happy Birthday, Garfield! Golden Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Little Bear, Grolier Enterprises (Danbury, CT), 1989.

Monsters!, Grolier Enterprises (Danbury, CT), 1989.

Baby Mickey Plays Follow-the-Leader, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Baby Bunny's Bedtime, Grolier Enterprises (Danbury, CT), 1991.

Beauty and the Beast, Touch Books, 1991.

Phantom of the Opera ("Classic Starts" series), Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

Author of scripts for children's audio materials Sorcerer's Apprentice and Inspector Gadget and the Weather Machine, both Playskool, 1985. Editor of series within "Bantam Supermarket Series," all published by Bantam (New York, NY): "Raggedy Ann and Andy Library," 1985-86, "Mickey's Fun-to-Read Readers Series," 1986, and "Mickey's Young Readers Series," 1990; editor of "Alphabet Treasure Hunt" series of boxed sets, Grolier Enterprises (Danbury, CT), 1985, and "Yummy Books" series, Zokeisha Publications (Tokyo, Japan), 1986.

"KISSES" SERIES FOR YOUNG ADULT READERS

First Love, WestWind (Mahwah, NJ), 1994.

Good-bye Kiss, WestWind (Mahwah, NJ), 1994.

Senior Kisses, WestWind (Mahwah, NJ), 1994.

OTHER

Love Stories: Never Tell Ben ("Love Stories" series), Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1997.

(With juvenile prison inmates; codirector) LA Street Scenes (stage script), performed in Santa Monica, CA, at Promenade Playhouse, 2006.

Full Blue (screenplay; based on the television documentary Blue Blood), shown at Tribeca Film Festival, 2006.

Also author, producer, and director of stage adaptations of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry. Other film scripts include Warrior Queen, 1998. Contributor to the "Live What You Love" book series, including Live What You Love: Entrepreneurs, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Diane Namm told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is that I'm not particularly good at doing anything else—and it's important to do something each day—so I write. My desire to tell a good story and satisfy the audience for which I'm writing are my main inspirations. The story can be about anything, so long as I find it an interesting subject. I try not to write anything that bores me, because, if I'm not interested, I can't really expect a reader or stage or film audience to like it.

"My work isn't influenced by anyone specific. I respect and admire so many authors that it would be inaccurate to select just a few. Like almost all writers, my writing is informed by several factors: my own experiences, my interactions with family and friends, and my chance encounters with people outside my immediate circle of relationships. Since a lot of my writing is now geared to stage and film, I read a great many books looking for great stories to adapt, as well as news and magazine articles.

"My writing process is a bit of a jumble. Sometimes I start with a character, or several characters. Sometimes I start with an idea and then figure out who the characters should be to best serve that idea. Sometimes I work with stories that someone else has written. If they are in the public domain, I just adapt them the way I want to. If they are owned by someone else, I buy the rights and then adapt the stories to fit the medium for which I'm writing.

"Twenty years ago I started out as a children's book editor at Grosset & Dunlap, where I did an awful lot of rewriting to make stories work. I then worked as an editorial director and also wrote original storybooks for children and young adults, which I still do. In the past few years I've learned to write for stage and film, which is a very different type of writing. The one thing that doesn't change, however, is keeping the audience interested in what I write. I hope that's the one element that has remained consistent throughout my writing career."