About Debbi
SHORT BIO:
Debbi Michiko Florence, a third-generation Japanese American, is the acclaimed author of more than 25 books for children and tweens. Her books have received starred reviews, JLG Selections, and inclusion on lists such as Amazon Best Books and the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best. Her middle-grade novels include Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai and the series Last Chance Academy. Book 1, A Study in Secrets is a finalist for the 2026 Best Juvenile Edgar Award. She is also the author of the award-winning Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series, which has sold more than 200,000 copies, and picture books, including Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata. A native Californian, Debbi now lives in Connecticut where she writes in her studio, The Word Nest.
LONG BIO:
Debbi Michiko Florence is the award-winning author of upper middle-grade novels Sweet and Sour; Keep It Together, Keiko Carter; Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai; and This Is How I Roll. She also wrote the Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series, which has sold more than 200,000 copies. Her newest middle grade books are Last Chance Academy starting with the Edgar Award nominated A Study in Secrets and the sequel, The Mastermind’s Trap, .
Debbi is third-generation Japanese American (sansei). She was born in San Francisco and grew up in Los Angeles. Debbi’s middle name is Michiko (ME-chee-koh), and she was named for the then-princess of Japan. When Debbi’s family still lived in San Francisco, her mom pushed past security so two-year-old Debbi could meet visiting Princess Michiko, a photo that made the local newspaper the next day.
You may not be surprised to learn that Debbi has always loved reading. When she was a child, her dad often read aloud to her, and on weekends her mom took Debbi and her sister to the library, where they could check out any book they wanted. Some childhood favorites, among many, include Charlotte’s Web, A Wrinkle in Time, Lad: A Dog, and anything by Judy Blume and Ruth Chew.
Debbi’s love of reading grew into a love of writing. She wrote stories as soon as she could write words and draw pictures. In the fourth grade, Debbi was so excited when her story about Fluffy the dog was published in the class magazine. She continued writing stories throughout school and into adulthood. Along with all the reading and writing, as a child Debbi took piano and guitar lessons (and for a short time played the accordion), did ballet and Japanese dance, took gymnastics, played basketball (go Westside Giants!), attended Japanese school, and was on her high school drill team.
She has always loved animals and has had many pets. Over the years, Debbi worked at a pet store, the Humane Society, a raptor rehabilitation center, and zoos, so you could say she was a professional poop-picker-upper, scooping poop from the smallest animal (Madagascar hissing cockroaches) to the biggest (elephants). She received her degree in zoology at the University of California, Davis, with a minor in English.
After attending California State University, Northridge, to get her K-8 teaching certificate, she taught fifth grade for a short time. Then she was hired for her first dream job: creating a summer camp program and training docents as the Associate Curator of Education at a zoo.
After meeting Bob and getting married, Debbi (finally!) chose to pursue a career writing books for young people, beginning what turned out to be a 15-year journey to publication. Debbi’s daughter, Caitlin, and Bob continue to be her biggest fans. They always believed in her, which kept her going through many years of rejections.
Today, Debbi has the best dream job, second only to being a mom. She writes full time in her writing studio, called The Word Nest because she loves words and birds, where she is always accompanied by her two adorable rescue dogs, Kiku and Ponyo.
Represented by Tricia Lawrence, senior agent, Aevitas Creative Management.
Member of Mystery Writers of America, Authors Guild, PEN America
