Children's Book Author Jodi Kendall Raz
Hello there. I’m a children’s book author, digital content strategist, voiceover actor, and kayak company founder. Depending on the content and platform of my work, I write under two names, Jodi Kendall and Jodi Raz.
For nearly a decade, I contributed content for countless National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild shows, including Alpha Dogs, Inside Combat Rescue, Are You Tougher Than A Boy Scout?, The 80's: The Decade that Made Us and Untamed Americas. Notable achievements include writing content for the National Geographic Channel's Locked Up Abroad series iPad/iPhone app for three seasons and the Nat Geo Wild's Big Cat Week iPad app, and the publication of my article “Researching Wild Whale Sharks” on the Webby Award-nominated Great Migrations website. Some of my other clients have included Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine and Writer’s Digest.
NEWS! I recently launched a kayak lifestyle company, Flatwater Kayak Club, based in the Pacific Northwest.
In early 2016 I expanded upon my freelance writing career into book writing when I landed a two-book deal at auction with HarperCollins Children's Books. My middle grade novels THE UNLIKELY STORY OF A PIG IN THE CITY and the sequel DOG DAYS IN THE CITY are on shelves now in English (North America), Portuguese (Portugal), Simplified Chinese (China), in hardback, paperback, ebook, and audio editions. The cover illustrator is French-American artist Pascal Campion and the voiceover artist for the audiobook is Cassandra Morris. My books are represented by literary agent Alexander Slater at Trident Media Group. If my schedule permits and COVID19 safety allows, I love visiting classrooms around the globe (educators, please email me about potential in-person and virtual visits).
I hold an MFA in Writing from the University of Arizona, BA in English with a Minor in Spanish from Florida State University, and a Professional Certificate in Advanced Social Media Marketing from Harvard University. For over a decade now I’ve been an active Published & Listed (PAL) Member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's (SCBWI), serving as a guest panelist and speaker at SCBWI-Metro NYC, SCBWI NY-Westchester County, and ALA national events, and a regular attendee of both regional and national conference events. In 2021, I also joined the Board of Directors for SAVE THE FROGS, the world’s first and most effective organization dedicated exclusively to amphibian conservation. And while I’ve worked freelance for various brands in the past as a content creator, I’m now happily employed full-time with a wonderful DC-based digital agency called Interactive Strategies (we’ve earned multiple Webby Award noms - check out our work). As a digital and content strategist, some of my past and current clients include NAACP Image Awards, Moderna Pharmaceuticals, Southland Industries, Action Against Hunger, Reading Is Fundamental, and The Sentencing Project.
DOG DAYS IN THE CITY launch party at Books of Wonder bookstore in NYC
In the voiceover world, I’m trained by the famed NYC coach the late Marla Kirban, and I’ve participated in commercial, animation, and narration workshops with a variety of talented artists included actress and comedian Jane Lynch and voiceover celebrity Robert Cait. My most recent VO contributions include narrating videos for global nonprofit Achilles International (a virtual gala hosted by Jon Stewart, Tiki Barber, and others) and the holiday commercial for Malouf Sleep. You can learn more about my voiceover work, submit a request for a project audition, and listen to a demo here.
After spending most of my adulthood as a New Yorker, we relocated to the west coast at the end of 2020. These days you can find us exploring our beautiful city of Portland, Oregon, probably on a hiking trail, camping, or kayaking.