Cheryl Zach, a former teacher, is the author of over forty books for middle grade readers and young adults. Her book Benny and the No-Good Teacher was a nominee for the South Carolina Children's Book Award and her book, The Class Trip was an International Reading Association/Children's Book Award. Zach is the first young adult writer to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America's Hall of Fame. She was also the first recipient of Young Adult Network's Silver Diary Award. Her historical novel, Hearts Divided, won the 1996 Virginia Romance Writer's Holt Medallion in the Young Adult category. Her articles have appeared in The Writer magazine, Children's Writer, and the Writer's Handbook. Zach is the current chairperson of the SCBWI Regional Advisors.