Alex Hiam’s studio is full of old paintings from his favorite time period, the late 1800s and early 1900s, so it’s no surprise that turn-of-the-Century Boston is featured in his magical tales about Silent Lee for younger teen readers.

Alex grew up in and around Boston and majored in anthropology at Harvard College, where he also wrote and illustrated articles about natural history, and won the English Department’s venerable Arnold Prize.

But the honor he is most proud of was being entrusted as a student with the key to the iron gates of Mount Auburn Cemetery, where he would let himself in at dawn on Spring mornings to study the migrating birds before the rest of Cambridge awoke.

Alex lives in Putney, Vermont, with his wife and five children, who are all avid readers; they are a muse and inspiration for many of his creations. His large family includes daughters ranging from pre-teens into their twenties, and his strong, nontraditional female leads are written for them.

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He is currently plotting the third Silent Lee adventure. To see drafts of Alex's various writing projects, check out his postings on Wattpad.

Alex has taught "Making Writing Exciting!" at North Star, a learning center for self-directed teens, was a lecturer at U Mass Amherst, and has taught part-time in elementary through high school grades at The Grammar School and The Compass School near his new home in Vermont.

He's bravely sailed the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, logging thousands of nautical miles (and plans someday soon to write a book about pirates).

He grew up visiting his Great Grandmother in her mysterious, famed Ames mansion on Dartmouth Street in downtown Boston, which really was in an earlier century, with mysterious and magical childhood experiences that provide inspiration for some of the settings in the Silent Lee series.

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Adopted along with his twin, and the father of biracial children, his personal experiences weave thematically into his magically adventurous tales.

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Should you or your organization be in need of an author's hand, this distinguished, award-winning author and scholar is available for hire, click here for Alex's resume.