Devin Scillian
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[edit] Biography
Devin Scillian (born January 11, 1963) is an American journalist and children's author. His eight books include the national bestseller A Is For America (2001), Fibblestax (2000), and Cosmo's Moon (2003). His most recent book is H Is For Honor, A Military Family Alphabet published by Sleeping Bear Press in 2006. Among his fans is First Lady Laura Bush who invited him to read at the White House for the 2004 Easter Egg Roll.
As a broadcast journalist, Scillian rose to prominence for his marathon coverage of the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building from the anchor desk of NBC affiliate KFOR-TV in 1995. The coverage he led brought the station a Peabody Award. He currently anchors the primary newscasts for WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit.
While still a student at the University of Kansas, Scillian began his television career at WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kansas. After graduating from the William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas, Scillian worked from 1985 to 1986 at WAND-TV in Decatur, Illinois. He spent the next three years as the main anchor at KLTV in Tyler, Texas, before moving to KFOR in Oklahoma City in 1989.
His first published children's book was Fibblestax, the story of a boy who wins the right to name every single thing in the world. A is For America followed in 2001. It's serendipitous release just before the 9/11 terrorist attacks made it a national bestseller, especially popular among teachers. Also a songwriter and musician, Scillian released a companion CD of the same title. The A Is For America album is a child's country and western musical tour of American history.
Scillian's music has found success in Europe. His 2000 album Tulsa released on High Heel Records received little airplay in the United States, but several singles landed on the country charts in Europe including "Half Past You" which hit number one in Denmark in the spring of 2005.
Scillian graduated from Junction City (KS) High School where he met Corey Stanesic. They were married in 1986. They have four children and reside in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Griffin Scillian is his oldest son
