“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
–Charles W. Eliot, The Happy Life
EMMA WALTON HAMILTON is a best-selling children’s book author, professional editor, and arts educator. In 1992, Emma co-founded the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York, and until 2008 served as the Theatre’s Director of Education and Programming for Young Audiences. She continues to act as Education Consultant for the theatre. Emma is also the Editorial Director for The Julie Andrews Collection publishing program (www.julie andrewscollection.com), dedicated to providing quality books for young readers that nurture the imagination and celebrate a sense of wonder, and works as a freelance editor for children’s books.
Together with her mother, Julie Andrews, Emma has co-authored seventeen children’s books, including the Dumpy the Dump Truck series of picture books, board books, and Early Readers (illustrated by her father, Tony Walton), the original fable and national best-seller Simeon’s Gift, the medieval novel Dragon: Hound of Honor, the best-selling middle grade novel about Broadway mice, The Great American Mousical, and Thanks to You—Wisdom from Mother and Child, a #1 New York Times Bestseller.
Recently, Emma and her mother completed the libretto for the stage adaptation of Simeon’s Gift, which was produced at Bay Street Theatre in the fall of 2007 and as a national symphonic tour in 2008. Emma has also co-written lyrics for several songs, including “The Show Must Go On,” recorded by Julie Andrews, and “On My Way,” recorded by Laughing Pizza, www.laughingpizza.com.
A former actress, Emma worked in theater, film and television for ten years before turning her attention towards directing, producing, writing, and educating. She was a faculty member at the Ensemble Studio Theatre Institute in New York City, then served as Bay Street Theatre’s Co-Artistic Director for thirteen years, at which point she chose to focus on creating and managing the Theatre’s educational and young audience programs. In addition to the Young Playwrights Program (the flagship of Bay Street’s educational outreach), Emma administered Bay Street’s Internship Program for serious students of technical theatre and the Continuing Classes courses for adults and children in acting, singing, and playwriting. She was also responsible for creating, booking, and managing Kidstreet, the Theatre’s highly acclaimed, year-round variety performance series for young audiences.
Emma is a member of the Authors Guild, the Dramatists Guild, The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the International Reading Association, Editorial Freelancer’s Association, SAG, AEA, AFTRA, and ASCAP. She has served on the theater panel for the New York State Council on the Arts, as an ambassador for the Broadway League’s “Kids Night on Broadway,” and as a trustee for the former Morriss Center School in Bridgehampton, NY. She lives in Sag Harbor, NY, with her husband, producer/actor Stephen Hamilton, and their two children, Sam and Hope—all of whom love to read.
For more information, visit www.emmawaltonhamilton.com.