Jordan Mondell

Current Employer: Little Bee Books

The Children's Literature program at Pitt prepared me for a career I had never even considered initially. After taking a Writing Youth Literature course with Siobhan Vivian to fulfill a major credit, I fell in love with creating my very own piece aimed at younger audiences. I was hooked, and decided to pursue the official certificate. Aside from the wonderful literature courses in the program, some of my additional classwork was quite interdisciplinary, and had me learning about the social, cultural and psychological worlds of children.

I now work at Little Bee Books, a subsidiary of Bonnier Publishing, as a Marketing and Publicity Assistant. At Little Bee, I work with authors, librarians and booksellers to bring our titles to an audience that ranges from toddlers to teenagers. The Children's Literature program at Pitt not only gave me the tools I needed to understand my market, but it introduced me to many of my closest friends, writing partners and now colleagues, which is invaluable to me.

About the Program

It is rare to have the opportunity to study children's literature, but Pitt has offered courses in children's literature since as early as 1933! The Children's Literature Certificate provides students with a springboard for many areas of professional work and study. Read about Pitt's pioneering history in children's literature and childhood studies, see the national awards won by our students and faculty, explore Pittsburgh's history of special contributions to children's culture, and find out what students are saying about the program.

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