Join us for a new Salon series every second Sunday at Oca Mocha Cafe. Our guest for February is Laura Shovan. Laura Shovan is a novelist, educator, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. Her work appears in journals and anthologies for children and adults. Laura’s award-winning middle grade novels include The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, Takedown, and the Sydney Taylor Notable A Place at the Table, written with Saadia Faruqi. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (BFA Dramatic Writing) and Montclair State University (Master of Arts, Teaching), Laura is a longtime poet-in-the-schools for the Maryland State Arts Council. She also teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her latest book is Welcome to Monsterville, illustrated by Michael Rothenberg. You can find out more about her at her website.