Shawnee Barton is a Texas born writer, artist, poker player, and mom of four living in Coronado, California. She earned her MFA in visual art from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and teaches art at California State Long Beach. Her writing has been published in TheAtlantic.com, NYTimes.com, Slate.com, and The San Diego Union-Tribune. Shawnee finished second in a World Series of Poker event. She also earned her way on the women's poker all-time money list and can also be found in James McManus's Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker.

Shawnee is currently seeking representation and publication for Bear's Home Game, a picture book that teaches kids (and adults who don't mind a little humor and a lot of cute forest animals) how to play Texas Hold'em poker. She’s also working on other picture books, including a short and silly picture book manuscript about a queso-loving baby. Find her on Instagram at @ShawneeRBarton (or @shawneebo for endless scroll of cute kiddo pics) or email her at ShawneeBarton@gmail.com.