Royal Dragonfly Book Award Winner!

Samantha Rogers was a child of the '80s. She grew up eating TV dinners and playing hide-and-seek on the block until the streetlights came on. But one day, while hiding in her grandmother's garden, something happened. Something that will change her life forever. Monsters began to stir. Shadows took form. And every dream became a waking nightmare. Haunted by that one moment, Samantha journeys into a world of darkness. And uncertainty. Will Samantha ever find her way back out into the light? Or will she be stuck in that garden forever? 

I'm hard at work on my new project! I put my Little Ant children's books aside for a while, so I can focus on writing a novel for adults. I plan to take a different route with this book and publish traditionally.

Ilene Dudek is an award-winning author and illustrator from Nutley, NJ. In 2017, she began writing her Little Ant children's series. Since then, she has completed six books in the series. All six books have been featured in the 2020-2021 preschool art program at Lovlee Art Studios in Bloomfield, NJ. Her new book Little Ant & the Epic Battle received the 2020 Royal Dragonfly Book Award—earning honorable mention in the Picture Books 6 & Older category. It was also recognized by the state of Illinois as a valuable COVID-19 resource for families with young children. It sits alongside recommendations from the CDC and UNICEF as a resource for understanding the pandemic. Ilene has participated in over 50 local author events, including a book signing at Barnes & Noble, and has been featured on "Spotlight New Jersey" — News 12 New Jersey and in Jersey's Best magazine. Ilene was also the guest speaker at a 2020 Nutley Rotary luncheon and on the 16W with Norman podcast. In the future, Ilene hopes to expand her horizons and write a fiction novel for adults.