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Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu
Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

PHILIP NEL
Professor of English
Director, Program in Children's Literature
http://www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/

 

Philip NelPhilip Nel is the author of "The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats," published by Random House in 2007 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of "The Cat in the Hat."

Nel's previous book, "Dr. Seuss: American Icon" (Continuum Publishing, 2004), took a thoughtful look at the creator of the Cat in the Hat. This book attracted considerable media attention, landing its author on "CBS Sunday Morning" and NPR's "Talk of the Nation."

Nel's first book, "J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels: A Reader's Guide" (Continuum Publishing, 2001) also resulted in extensive national publicity for the author. Nel says Harry Potter is not only entertaining reading; it's literature. He wrote the reader's guide to encourage readers -- parents, children, reading groups -- to appreciate Rowling's literary merits.

His work on Harry Potter and Dr. Seuss have led to speaking engagements at such venues as: Stanford University, the Smithsonian Institution, the Austin Museum of Art, the University of California at San Diego, the University of Connecticut, Case-Western Reserve University, the University of Florida, and the University of Westminster (London).

He is also author of "The Avant-Garde and American Postmodernity: Small Incisive Shocks" (University Press of Mississippi, 2002). He is working on a biography of Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss, two children's writers who were also married to one another. Johnson is best known as the author of "Harold and the Purple Crayon," and Krauss is best known for "A Hole Is to Dig" (illustrated by Maurice Sendak) and "The Carrot Seed" (illustrated by Johnson). Johnson's "Magic Beach" (Front Street, 2005) included an Afterword by Nel and a Foreword by Sendak. "Magic Beach" was the first new book written and illustrated by Johnson in 40 years (he died in 1975).

Nel also directs the English department's graduate program in Children's Literature. He created and teaches the popular course "Harry Potter's Library: J.K. Rowling, Texts and Contexts," and has taught courses on Dr. Seuss, 20th-century children's picture books, and radical children's literature. His next book will be "Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature" (NYU Press), which he is co-editing with Julia Mickenberg of the University of Texas at Austin.

Nel received his bachelor's degree in English and psychology from University of Rochester and his master's degree and doctorate in English at Vanderbilt University. Before coming to K-State in 2000, Nel taught at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

His grants and awards include a Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend, a Big 12 Faculty Fellowship, and K-State's William L. Stamey Teaching Award. His article "Dada Knows Best: Growing Up 'Surreal' with Dr. Seuss" won the Children's Literature Association's Article Award in 2001. He also serves as Webmaster for the Don DeLillo Society and the Crockett Johnson Homepage.

Nel can be reached at 785-532-2165 or via e-mail at philnel@k-state.edu.