Vanessa E. Howard writes primarily fantasy for middle grade and young adult. She has been a newspaper reporter, magazine writer, and college composition teacher. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the Realm Makers writing community, she is also a homeschool mom and co-op teacher. Ms. Howard lives with her family on a couple of woodsy acres in Central Texas.

Her debut novel, Emmett and the Epic Word Searches, releases from Paths to Portals, the middle grade imprint of Descendant Publishing, in summer 2026.

Emmett and the Epic Word Searches is a middle grade portal fantasy about a boy with dyslexia who goes on exciting adventures to find the definitions of words, but discovers far more about life and himself than he ever expected.