Ken Derby is a slightly famous author, monkey trainer, twelve-minute rock star, five-minute TV star, two-minute movie star, fisherman, amateur photographer, and former CIA operative. Okay, the CIA operative thing isn’t really true, but it’s fun to mess with people.

Ken writes primarily for children, but he does have a new adult story that isn’t published yet. His book, “The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of 5th Grade,” received the honor of being a “Children's Choices Novel” by the Children's Book Council and the International Reading Association. Alabama students voted "The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of 5th Grade" as their favorite book (in the grades 4-6 category) for The Emphasis on Reading-Children’s Choice Book Award Program, which is sponsored by the Alabama Department of Education.

Ken is also an educator (i.e. monkey trainer) and has been working in international schools for several years. Ken is also a speaker and has made presentations at several international schools and at education conferences. He does literacy work in Turkmenistan, and he is the only western author that has been solely published by the Turkmen State Publishing House. Ken also served on the board of advisors for NYSeed.org, a green startup that seeks to effectuate a positive social and environmental impact through urban development, emphasizing the responsible relationship between agriculture and consumption habits, stressing bio-sustainability, local development, and their 'Planet-to-Plate' mission.

Ken lives with his wife in Budapest, Hungary. His daughter lives in Miami, and his son lives in New York City.