About Darleen

Award-winning author, Darleen Bailey Beard, loves to write, loves to speak, & has performed in hundreds of author/educator events nationwide.

She’s a fun & energetic, seasoned pro who works with all ages — PRE-K THROUGH ADULT. Author visits, writing workshops, association meetings, keynote addresses & more!

Darleen has a BA in Professional Writing, 1986, from the University of Oklahoma. Her books have received starred & boxed reviews, Junior Library Guild Selection, Best Book of the Year by Bank Street College of Education, Amelia Bloomer Award, seven state nominations for children’s choice awards, Gamma State Author Award, & the Oklahoma Book Award.

Her Flimflam Man has been featured on "Discover Oklahoma," turned into a play by the La Jolla Playhouse in CA, & presented in schools throughout the San Diego area & at San Diego State University. Her Operation Clean Sweep is currently being turned into a play in Umatilla, OR.

She is a longtime member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and helps with local conferences, both in judging and critiquing manuscripts and speaking.

When she’s not on the road speaking or researching a book, she enjoys spending time with her two children, her fiance' David Riffle, gardening, decorating, reading and traveling.

Throughout her writing career, she has received hundreds of fan letters from students and one of her favorites is posted above her computer which simply says: Your heart flows with good stuff!