Judi Miller

Since Judi Miller was five, she wanted to live in New York City and be an actress. Graduating from the Cleveland Playhouse Children's Theatre she went on to Ohio University where she majored in theatre arts. She left there to go to Julliard School of Music majoring in the Martha Graham technique. She did summer stock where in 'Time Out for Ginger' she acted with then unknown and "wonderfully nice" Dustin Hoffman.
One day Judi had an epiphany: She wanted to be a writer. She was told by an editor and dear friend to earn while she learned so she went into advertising as a copywriter. A creative director was looking at her portfolio and told Judi she could be a different writer if she went to the School of Visual Arts for Graphics, so off she went to learn the meaning of concept which she applies to this day. Not really a 9-5 type of person Judi started her own free-lance company. During this time she wrote many commercials for a radio station heard in the Garment District. She would take menus and business cards and create commercials that would become classics.
She also wrote for newspapers and national magazines, sometimes under the pen names Jennifer Lee, Marla Jenson and Duane Facquard. Judi penned a series of self-help books for adults and younger readers, and a number of Young Adult/Middle Grade books followed by numerous Adult suspense titles.
Ms. Miller published children's books which won International Children's Choice awards, as well as the Virginia Reader's Award. She taught at NYU and for 10 years at the New School for Social Research, leading a popular class called "How to Build a Children's Book.