A former ‘city girl,’ Friend lives on a small farm in southeastern Minnesota, where she and her spouse raise sheep and cattle. She writes adult nonfiction, fiction, and children’s books. “I suppose I should focus on just one, but I can’t bear to give any of them up,” says Friend.

The Compassionate Carnivore won the Minnesota Book Award in General Nonfiction. Her memoir, Hit By a Farm was selected by the Minneapolis Star Tribune as one of the best books of 2006. Her children’s picture book, The Perfect Nest, was chosen by the Wall Street Journal as one of five best ‘read alouds,’ and was nominated for numerous state reading awards. She was awarded the Loft/McKnight Artist Fellowship for Writers, and her adult adventure novels have won several awards.

Friend has a M.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Spanish. She works as a freelance editor, teaches writing workshops, and authors the blogs “Farm Tales” and “The Inkslinger.” She volunteers on her local library and arts council boards, calls her parents on a regular basis, and is especially proud she’s learned how to take the wool from her sheeps’ backs and knit it into very cool socks.

• Awards and Nominations •

Hit By a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn

Nominated for a Lambda Literary Award

Winner of a 2007 Golden Crown Literary Award

Finalist for The Publishing Triangle’s Judy Grahn Award

The Compassionate Carnivore, Or How to Keep Animals Happy, Save Old MacDonald’s Farm, Reduce Your Hoofprint, and Still Eat Meat

Winner of the 2009 Minnesota Book Award in General Nonfiction

The Perfect Nest

Winner of the 2009 Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book Award

Finalist for the:

Nevada Young Readers’ Award

Minnesota Book Award

Arizona Grand Canyon Readers Award

Norfolk (U.K.) Children’s Book Award

California Young Readers’ Medal

New Hampshire Ladybug Picture Book Award

Debbie Zimmerman Niagara Literary Award

A Pirate’s Heart

2008 Lesbian Fiction Readers Choice Award

Winner of the 2008 Ben Franklin Award in Fiction (Independent Book Publishers Association)

Winner of a 2009 Golden Crown Literary Award

Finalist for a Lambda Literary Award

The Spanish Pearl

Winner of a 2008 Golden Crown Literary Award

Finalist for a Gaylactic Spectrum Award

The Crown of Valencia

Winner of a 2008 Golden Crown Literary Award

Catherine was awarded a 2010 Alice B. Medal for her body of work.

• Forthcoming Books •

• A Pirate’s Heart (audiobook), DogEar Productions, Summer, 2010, narrated by the author,
  www.dogearaudio.com
• Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Acres, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet, DaCapo Press, Spring, 2011
• Barn Boot Blues, Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books, Spring 2011

• Published Books •

• A Pirate's Heart, Bold Strokes Books, December 2008
• The Compassionate Carnivore, Da Capo Press, May 2008.
• The Crown of Valencia, Bold Strokes Books, November, 2007.
• The Spanish Pearl, Bold Strokes Books, May, 2007.
• The Perfect Nest, illustrated by John Manders, Candlewick/Walker, Feb. 2007.
• Hit By a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn, Marlowe & Company, 2006.
• Eddie the Racoon, illustrated by Herbert Wong Yee, Candlewick/Walker, 2004.
• Silly Ruby, illustrated by Rachel Merriam, Candlewick/Walker, 2000.
• Funny Ruby, illustrated by Rachel Merriam, Candlewick/Walker, 2000.
• The Sawfin Stickleback: A Very Fishy Story, illust. by D. Yaccarino, Hyperion, 1994.
• My Head is Full of Colors, illustrated by Kiki. Hyperion Books for Children, 1994, 1995.

• Downloads •

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