Tori Kelley is a multidisciplinary artist focusing on creative resilience through the power of story, music, art, and therapy.
As a child, Tori's voice was silenced. By age 18, she had only an eighth-grade education. Despite those beginnings, she refused to let her circumstances define her future. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in Counseling and a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults, proving that resilience can rewrite even the hardest stories.
Growing up, Tori's mother often told her that her singing voice "hurt her ears." Rather than giving up, Tori found the courage to keep singing. She has since written, performed, and produced two albums of original music—True to You and Beautiful Pain—both chronicling the ...
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Latest from the Blog
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Deepen the Story
A to B-story: How to Deepen the Story by Adding Another Story Layer
By Tori Leigh Kelley
One way to make a story go from a flat, one-note operation, is to create a B-story for another character that mirrors or contrasts the ...
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Write Responsibly
The Silenced Howl: How Children’s Literature Contributed to the Near-Extinction of the Wolf and How it Evolved to Save It
By Tori Leigh Kelley
“Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? Tra-la-la-la-la-a-a-a!” Banta, et al., (14).
Mary Quattlebaum’s lecture, Depicting Animals “Realistically” in ...
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Artificial Intelligence in KidLit
Preventing Human Extinction through an Examination of the Robotic Hands of : Ones, Zeros, and Everything in Between
By Tori Leigh Kelley
“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” –Oscar Wilde
Technology is advancing at a breakneck pace, from ...
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Building Empathy
Shepherding Your Young Reader into Rocky Picture Book Terrain: How to Use G.O.A.T.S. to Build Reader Connection and Resiliency
By Tori Leigh Kelley
“The reason I write is to explain my life to myself. I’ve also discovered that when I do, I’m explaining other people’s lives to them.” Pat ...
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Show Don’t Tell
Pump up the Interest: Move the Camera
By Tori Leigh Kelley
Many of us prefer to watch cinematic movies over documentaries. One reason may be the varied use of interesting camera angles. The same could be said in writing. If a writer keeps the camera focused on one object, or one character, ...
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