Eileen Heyes grew up in California and has called North Carolina home for more than three decades. Her lifelong love of writing led her into a career in newspaper journalism, which lasted until the early 2000s. By that time, she had published five books for young people, which have been honored by the New York Public Library, Society of School Librarians International, Child Study Council, and Mystery Writers of America. A perpetual student, she earned a certificate in documentary arts from the Center for Documentary Studies and a master’s degree in English from N.C. State University. Her most recent book, Bountiful Red Acres: Two Farms, Two Families, and a Year on the Land, was selected as the 2024 Great Reads from Great Places youth book by the North Carolina Humanities, and was also highlighted at the Library of Congress National Book Festival; the American Library Association named it a Notable Government Document of 2023. Eileen lives in Raleigh with her brilliant husband and a bossy dog.
