Christine Hartman Derr is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She’s a graduate from VCFA’s Writing for Children MFA program, where she won the Revisionary award, Candlewick Picture Book Prize, T.A. Barron Prize for Nature Writing, and was selected as a DEI Fellow and a Center for Arts and Social Justice Fellow. Christine writes across age markets and genres, and is currently working on revising her middle grade novel in verse. She runs the blog Paw Prints in the Sink and has written articles for regional publications. She’s honored to be a contributor to the anthology Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In (Heartdrum 2025). Originally from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Christine lives in East Tennessee with her spouse, children, and a rambunctious crew of lovable pets with themed names.