About
Jude Atwood was raised on a farm in rural Illinois near the Quad Cities. When he was a child, teachers sometimes observed that Jude read above his grade level, and he balances that out today by reading many young adult and middle grade books. Jude works as a community college professor, teaching mass communication and media literacy classes. He lives in Southern California with his boyfriend and his dog.
Jude’s first novel, MAYBE THERE ARE WITCHES, won the Kraken Book Prize for Middle-Grade Fiction and was a Society of Midland Authors honoree.
Featured Work
Maybe There Are Witches
After moving to the tiny village of Biskopskulla, middle school student Clara Hutchins discovers that her family has a history in the region: one hundred forty years ago, one of her ancestors was hanged as a witch from the white oak tree on the edge of town. When Clara finds a mildewed diary in the basement, she’ s even able to read the rambling thoughts of her long-dead relative.
But when the book’ s predictions about Clara’ s own life start coming true, she wonders if those 19th-century villagers had a point: maybe her great-great-great grandmother really did have unearthly abilities. Now, a break-in at the tomb of the town’ s founder means a great evil has returned to Biskopskulla. Clara and her newest friends— two of the weirdest boys in school— must join forces to decipher the messages of a murdered witch and stop an unnatural catastrophe. But as they quest through historic cemeteries, backcountry libraries, and high-octane scholastic bowl tournaments, something sinister is lurking, watching, and waiting…
