Amy Aves Challenger

I'm an American writer and artist
living in Switzerland,
a wife, a mom of three kids, and three rescue animals. I care deeply about nature and the sense of displacement I have witnessed and experienced in individuals and communities of varied backgrounds. I studied communications design at Syracuse University and worked as a graphic designer, art director, and product designer in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco.

Twelve years ago, the New York Writers' Coalition and Westport Writers trained me to lead creative writing workshops. I now lead my own workshops internationally. They are designed to provide a safe space for participants to refine their writing voices and craft, and build confidence to share their stories. My articles, opinion pieces, essays, poetry, and fiction have been published widely and internationally by leading magazines and newspapers. My illustrations have been reproduced on greeting cards and sold in retail stores like Gump's. 

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I'm completing a dystopian novel about family survival. In this fictional account, a mother and her unusual child search for meaning and community in an authoritarian state that overlooks signs in nature while employing technology to tag, divide, and "cleanse" its citizens. The story follows a life before conception and asks readers to consider how the race to acquire intelligence will impact the basic instincts and individuality of future generations. I compiled the story over many difficult years while struggling with my own child, who lived through open-heart surgery and other health challenges, but barely "survived" school. He is now studying neuroscience at a leading university in the UK.

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