Award-winning children’s author and educator Clarissa Willis has been named the 2026 inductee into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame, honoring her decades-long contribution to literature and education.
A native of Arkansas and lifelong advocate for children’s learning, Willis has built a distinguished career blending storytelling, scholarship, and service. The daughter of a minister and a drama teacher, she grew up in Little Rock blessed with a lively spirit and creative flair.
Willis is the author of eight children’s books, including several award-winning titles. Her 2024 release, Bloomers on Pikes Peak: The Story of Julia Archibald Holmes, earned both a Will Rogers Medallion Award and recognition as a finalist for the Women Writing the West 2025 WILLA Literary Award in Children’s Picture Books. Her 2022 book, Fast as the Wind: The Story of Johnny Fry, Pony Express Rider, also received the Will Rogers Medallion for Picture Books.
Her most recent publications include The Three Little Pigs and the Not So Big Bad Wolf (2025), Anderson the Ornithologist (2024), and Lily Explores (2025), as well as upcoming titles The Forgotten Sister: The Story of Carrie Ingalls and Not from Around Here, both to be released in 2026 by Solander Press.
In addition to her success as an author, Willis has made a lasting mark in early childhood education. She served as Senior Vice President of Publishing for Kaplan Early Learning Company and continues to write curriculum and resource materials for Frog Street Press. Her expertise in inclusive education and child development has led to keynote appearances, training workshops, and speaking engagements in all fifty U.S. states and twelve foreign countries — including invitations to the Zigler Center for Public Policy at Yale University and the Oxford Roundtable on Special Education in England.
Clarissa’s career is characterized by her passion for empowering children through stories and helping educators nurture the same spirit of wonder in their classrooms. Her books often spotlight historical figures and everyday heroes, encouraging and inspiring young readers. Whether she’s writing about the first pioneer woman to climb Pikes Peak or celebrating the abilities of children with special needs, Clarissa’s stories are motivational and uplifting.
Willis has served on the board of the Ozark Creative Writers’ Conference since 1985 and is also a board member of the Between the Pages Writers’ Conference in Springfield, Missouri. Through these roles, she has mentored and inspired countless emerging writers across the region.
Her many accolades include multiple Will Rogers Medallion Awards, the Faculty Scholarship Award from the University of Southern Indiana, and recognition for her contributions to autism awareness and early childhood education.
From her Arkansas roots to her international reach, Clarissa Willis embodies the heart of a storyteller. Her induction into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame celebrates not only her accomplishments as a writer, but also her enduring impact on readers everywhere.