Meet Kelly Reddin

My name is Kelly Reddin and I am so grateful you are here.

I hope my stories make you smile and think of someone you love and/or love to be around. Please share your memories with others and spend time reading with someone.

I am a former teacher, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. I have worked for small schools and businesses as well as corporate giants. I feel so blessed to have lived, traveled, and/or worked in all 50 states, most provinces of Canada, and in Central and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. I met such wonderful people everywhere and want you to read about some of them.

Thank you, Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for featuring me in April 2026!

Go to SCBWI article

Background and Credentials

Kelly is a former elementary, middle grade and college educator. For twenty years she worked at Lego Education where she worked in a variety of positions including curriculum specialists, creating STEM activities for students from preschool to high school.

Later she became a Global Master Trainer and Solutions Architect, working with district and state level administrators to ensure students had access to STEM and especially robotics.

Kelly holds a B.S. in Business Administration, an M.B.A, and a B.A. in Elementary Education. She has also studied international economics of the Pacific Rim in Tokyo at Sophia University.

Ozark Writers League

First Place - The Stolen Christmas Present - Humorous Anecdote
First Place - Tie One on at the Knot Family Reunion - The Family Reunion
Second Place - The New Girl - Juvenile Short Story
Second Place - A Beautiful Way to Spend the Day - Creative Nonfiction My Favorite Hobby
Second Place - The Stream - Crawford Poetry Prize
Second Place - The Canadian - Travel Article
Third Place - Harold Brazil, Joplin's Tuskegee Airman - Ozarks Article
Honorable Mention - Riding Down Memory Lane - Hometown Newspaper Column
Honorable Mention - The Ring - O'Henry Style Story
Honorable Mention - Teaching, What an Experience! - Memoir & Creative Nonfiction

Awards 2024

Awards 2026

Joplin Writers Guild

Third Place - The Secret Admirer - Valentine's Day Short Story

Crowder Quill (Published Stories)

Community Fiction

Gold (First) - The Mirror

Community Memoir

Honorable Mention - Being

Nana Claus

White County Creative Writers

First Place - Aces & Eights Award
- An Empty Jail
Third Place - David Roper Memorial Contest
- Pirate Magic
Third Place - First Date Disaster
- Glad That's Over
1st HM - Murderers Anonymous
- Catch Me if You Can. Not.
2nd HM Sing Along
- I Love Getting Older

Awards 2025

Between The Pages Writer's Conference

First Place - Hidden in Plain Sight - Children's Book Back Cover
First Place - Mr. Nobody - Book Title & Compelling Beginning (Thriller Genre)
Second Place - Revenge is Mine - First Paragraph Sleuth's Ink Mystery
Honorable Mention - Bonds Never Broken

Crowder Quill (Published stories)

Bronze Nonfiction - The Stolen Christmas Present (page 4)
Bronze Fiction Short Story - The Ring (page 74)

Joplin Writers Guild

Third Place - True, Lasting Love - Valentine's Day Short Story

Ozark Writers League

Third Place - Duck & Cover Reunion - The Family Reunion
Third Place - Being Nana Claus - Creative NF - My Favorite Hobby
Second Place - Texting, Oops - A Spoof About Writing
Second Place - Major in Business; Minor in Monkey Business - Humorous Memoir
1 HM - Our Nation - Poetic Malfeasance
3 HM - Beautiful Day - Magical Ozarks Moments

Writers' Organization Memberships:

Joplin Writers’ Guild
Ozark Writers’ League
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
Sleuth’s Ink
Springfield Writers’ Guild
Missouri Writers’ Guild

Writing Organizations

and Awards

Community and Fun Facts

Community Memberships:

Carl Junction Chamber of Commerce, Board Vice-President
Joplin Historical Society, Board President
Ronald McDonald House, Overnight and Weekend Manager
Joplin Health & Welfare Board
Joplin Museum Advisory Board
Soroptimist International, Joplin Chapter Board
Sacred Heart Church Food Pantry Administrator

Fun Facts

Lived in Missouri, Kansas, California, Maryland, Kentucky, Georgia, and Germany.
Traveled in South Korea, Japan, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Mexico, Canada, England, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Madeira, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Northern Island, Scotland, Wales, and Luxembourg.
Places I would like to visit include Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, the Baltic States, and more.
I am an only child who was thrilled to marry into a big family.
I love becoming Nana Claus and working with children of all ages, from infant to 110 years!