Meet Nancy

The Short Version: 

Nancy Castaldo is an award-winning author who has been writing books for young readers for more than 25 years from New York’s Hudson Valley. Her curiosity about the natural world led her to study science and build a career as an environmental educator, writer, and photographer. Through research, travel, and exploration—both close to home and around the globe—Nancy has created more than two dozen books and numerous articles that connect readers to nature, history, and culture.

A dual Italian-American citizen, she also draws inspiration from her family, travels and international perspective.

Nancy writes to inform, inspire, and empower readers to better understand and appreciate the world around them. She is represented by Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary. 

The Long Version:

Nancy Castaldo is an award-winning author who has been writing books about our planet for more than 25 years from New York’s Hudson Valley. Her love of reading, writing, and exploring the outdoors began in childhood, when she could often be found searching for frogs, turtles, and salamanders or climbing trees.

In tenth grade, Nancy’s English teacher, Miss Gilmartin, encouraged her to submit poetry to magazines and contests, leading to her first publishing credit—a poem in Seventeen magazine. She still writes poetry today.

Nancy’s curiosity about the natural world led her to study science in college. When she wasn’t in the lab researching what makes fireflies glow, she was outdoors conducting fieldwork and taking photographs. By her senior year, she was president of the science club, editor of the college literary magazine, and an intern at Audubon magazine.

After college, Nancy became an environmental educator and earned a master’s degree. Today, she combines her passions for science, history, culture, photography, and storytelling in her books, articles, and poetry. Her research has taken her around the world, working alongside scientists, historians, conservationists, and farmers. A dual Italian-American citizen, Nancy often draws inspiration from her travels, where history, agriculture, food traditions, and wild places frequently find their way into her work.

Nancy is a certified National Geographic Educator and has served on the boards of her local Audubon Society and Girl Scout Council. She is Regional Advisor Emeritus for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in Eastern New York and serves on the Council of the International Wildlife Coexistence Network and the Writers Council of the National Writing Project.

Research remains Nancy’s favorite part of the writing process. Whether exploring a nearby wetland or traveling abroad, she never knows where a question will lead or what story she will uncover next. She loves sharing those discoveries with readers of all ages.

Nancy writes to inform, inspire, and empower readers to better understand the world around them and their place within it. She is represented by Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary.