Joy Vigil is a middle grade author whose stories are rooted in the wild, beautiful, and sometimes terrifying adventures of growing up as an American kid in Panama. Her writing explores what it means to be brave when the world feels big, to find connection across cultures, and to discover that your story — no matter how different — matters.

Joy spent her childhood dodging tropical downpours, befriending a goofy parrot named Squirt, and learning that “different” doesn’t mean “bad.” She later lived in Uganda before settling in Longmont, Colorado, where she now writes, bakes more than any one family can eat, and loses board games to her two high schoolers.

With a career spanning education — from teacher’s aide to Spanish teacher to early childhood specialist to operations manager — Joy brings a deep love of young readers to everything she creates. She’s a sign language interpreter, fluent in three languages, a member of SCBWI, and a graduate of The Book Incubator. When she’s not writing first drafts in cursive on her back porch, she’s dreaming up school visits, classroom activities, and ways to help kids see themselves in stories.