JOHN LIPP (left) & KEVIN WOODSON (right) met through the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in 2001. Both were trying to form a writers' critique group to launch their publishing careers. At the first meeting, the group met at Kevin's house in Oakland to explore working together. There were lots of good stories at the table that day, but none was as compelling as John Lipp’s manuscript for Aunt Imelda's Dinosaur Stew and Other Things AIDS Doesn't Stand For.

John and Kevin have both personally felt the profound effects this pandemic can have in communities, and had worked and volunteered in AIDS Service Organizations throughout the Bay Area for their entire adult lives.

JOHN LIPP: John’s work as a writer has appeared in publications ranging from Plays: The Drama Magazine for Young People to adult fiction in the magazine Genre. John’s nonfiction work has appeared in publications ranging from Advocate.com to Voluntary Action Leadership and he is a columnist for the magazine, Wag. John’s educational background includes a BFA in Theater for Youth, which included extensive study in children’s literature. John’s work as a consultant and trainer for the nonprofit sector, including work with AIDS organizations, has given him unique insight into this field. In addition, he is the Executive Director of PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support) a San Francisco organization with a 19-year history of providing direct services to people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition to planning the future adventures of Aunt Imelda, John is currently completing the first manuscript in a new series, The Monsters Anonymous Club, as well as a young adult novel, Donut Boy. For more information about John, please contact us, or see the up-to-date information at the link below:
xxx— PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support)

KEVIN WOODSON Aunt Imelda is illustrated by Kevin Woodson. Kevin is a founding partner of Visual Ink, LLC, a corporate communications company specializing in the art of visual language.  Visual Ink’s clients include many Fortune 500 businesses such as Hewlett Packard, Citigroup, and PepsiCo.  In addition to his growing business, Kevin is a a long-term AIDS volunteer, performing roles ranging from meal-delivery to creating the 1998 award-winning Project Open Hand Pride float. He is an active California artist, displaying his watercolors in museums and galleries across the San Francisco Bay Area. Books that Kevin’s illustrations recently appeared in are: The World Café; Brown, Isaacs, et. al. Berrett-Koehler 2005, and Virtuoso Teams, Boynton, Fischer, Prentice Hall 2005.  Some of Kevin's upcoming children's book titles are: The Bird Lady, The King of Kook, and The Flower Boy and the Origami Christmas Tree (currently available online). For more information on Kevin's current and activities, we provide the following resources, or you can contact us for more in-depth information:
xxx— Resume and Bio in PDF
xxx— Kevin's web page, kevinwoodson.com