Lin Oliver

Lin Oliver (born February 2, 1947) is an American writer, producer, and the co-founder (with Steve Mooser) of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. During the 1990s and early 2000s, she wrote and produced a number of works for television and film, notably the 1990s television show, Harry and the Hendersons. As an author of books for children, Oliver began collaborating on the Hank Zipzer series with actor Henry Winkler in 2003. They next created the prequel series Here's Hank, the Ghost Buddy series, and the Alien Superstar series. Childhood and education Oliver was born in Los Angeles, California, and was the editor-in-chief of her school newspaper at Ulysses S. Grant High School. She received her B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, a Masters in Educational Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has completed coursework for an Ed.D. (also UCLA). Career Oliver won a job working in television through a contest after graduating from college. She then quit the position, and found a federally funded job for a children's writer (creating a K-6 reading series for children) at the unemployment office. In the position, she worked with Steve Mooser during a three-year contract to create stories and novels as part of the Great Society program. As neither knew much about the field, both Oliver and Mooser realized that they needed to create an organization dedicated to children's literature, and thus created the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (where Lin is now executive director). Oliver was the Executive Vice President of MCA Universal for 12 years, and was the writer and executive producer for "over 300 episodes of television and three feature films," including Harry and the Hendersons. She currently runs her own production company, Lin Oliver Productions, and is the author of a number of children's books including, Who Shrunk Daniel Funk, and Almost Identical.