Stella Pevsner

Stella Pevsner’s interest in writing began in high school where she wrote a humor column for the school magazine, the Railsplitter, and in her senior year she was the co-editor. By her early twenties, she had migrated from her hometown of Lincoln, IL, to Chicago for most of her life.

There she began a career in advertising, writing copy for several agencies with a side-trip into publicity, when she became promotion director for Dana Perfumes.

After marriage and four children, she began writing books for middle school students and pre-teens. Her books won numerous awards; The Golden Kit, Society of Midland Authors, Carl Sandburg, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, as well as states of Arkansas and Virginia. She was named Illinois “Author of the Year” in 1987. She spoke to numerous classes of students both in the states and in the American School in Germany.

Her book, “A Smart Kid Like You,” was made into an after-school special under the name “Me and Dad’s New Wife.” Other titles include, “The Night the Whole Class Slept Over,” “And You Give Me a Pain, Elaine,” “Would My Fortune Cookie Lie?,” and eighteen others. More recently, titles have been available on Kindle, including, “That’s When I Kissed the Tiger.”

She was a longtime member of the Society of Midland Authos, and held several offices, including President. More recently, she moved to Albuquerque, NM, where she became a member of Southwest Writers.

An ardent traveler (“Ever since second grade I new I had to see other lands…it would be impossible not to…”) she visited most European countries, also Iran, Turkey, and Russia, along with China, Japan, India, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Vietnam, and Thail.

She leaves sons, Stuart and Charles; and daughter, Marian; along with many cousins, nieces, and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Leo Pevsner; and daughter, Barbara Leslie.