
Photo by Ashley Marie Fraley
Meet Lois Szymanski
Lois Szymanski says the books she read as a child changed her life and led her on the writer's path. Her favorite book growing up was, "Misty of Chincoteague," but she read any horse book she could find. That's why these are the things she writes about about today.
​Szymanski was one of seven children, raised in Reisterstown, Maryland until she was a teen and her family moved 100 miles west to Sidling Hill Mountain in Warfordsburg, PA. There, she rode her mare Ouiji through the mountains, picking wild strawberries and coming up on flocks of wild turkey and white tailed deer. Today, she resides in Union Mills, Maryland with her husband Dan and two miniature horses named Georgie McLittle and Hazel Marie.
​Szymanski's short stories have appeared in a long list of children's magazines, including Highlights for Children, U*S*Kids Magazine, Turtle Magazine for Preschoolers and Hopscotch Magazine for Girls. She's written articles for Horse Illustrated Magazine, Young Rider, HorsePower Magazine, Writer's Digest, Carroll Magazine, East Coast Equestrian and many other publications, but her passion is writing books about the horses she loves.
Szymanski helped create The Feather Fund in memory of her friend, Carollynn Suplee, who purchased a foal for a child annually for each of the eight years she survived cancer as a way of giving back for the gift of life. This 503c nonprofit helps children purchase Chincoteague Pony foals. Raising a foal teaches kids to work for what they love.