Shannon Cartwright

There are more than one million and a half books in print illustrated by Shannon Cartwright. She's illustrated over 30 childrens books, 8 of which she has also written.  She came to Alaska in 1972 after graduating from college. After working a year in the field of advertising in Ann Arbor, Michigan she was drawn north by the stories she had heard as a child from her grandmother, Esther Scheubel, a famous public health nurse who spent 14 years in the Alaska "bush". Cartwright expresses her love of Alaska through the numerous children's books she has illustrated to date.  Her books provide a colorful and entertaining story line and, at the same time, teach kids about Alaska: the land the people and the wildlife.  Cartwright is uniquely qualified for the job.   For the last 48 years she has lived in Alaska, most of which have been spent living in the bush - far off the road system. For years She's worked a setnet  site on Bristol Bay, led horsepack trips in the Talkeetna Mts, Alaska Range and the Brooks Range. Now she lives off the Alaska Railroad, hauling water from a nearby springs, heating with firewood, running her house and shop with solar and wind power, and growing most of her vegetables. Life has been made easier these last couple years with a wifi dish that finally connects her to the outside world. She spends her time doing chores, snowshoeing, skiing, hiking, and learning from the wilderness and wildlife around her. All is reflected in her illustrations and writing.

     She has her own gallery along the ARR, and is also represented by the Falling Leaf Gallery in Talkeetna.