Devin Scillian
- Actor
- Writer
Devin Scillian is an American journalist and children's author. His
fifteen books include the national bestseller A Is For America (2001),
Fibblestax (2000), and Memoirs of a Goldfish (2010) which won the Wanda
Gag Award as the nation's best "read aloud" book. His most recent book
is Memoirs of a Hamster illustrated by Tim Bowers, published by
Sleeping Bear Press in 2013. He's co-written two books with his wife,
Corey. "One Kansas Farmer," illustrated by Doug Bowles, was released in
2009. Their previous book, S Is For Sunflower, won the Bill Martin, Jr.
Picture Book Award in 2007. Among his fans is former 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 anchors the primary
newscasts for WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit. Three times he has
won an Edward R. Murrow, one of the highest honors in journalism. His
most recent Murrow Award was the 2012 award for writing. In 2009, his
documentary on the search for the automotive fuel of the future,
"Fuel's Gold," won for Best Documentary. He previously won the same
award in 2007 for "The China Syndrome", a documentary about the crisis
in American manufacturing. He hosts the Sunday morning news program
"Flashpoint" on WDIV. He originally created "Flashpoint" at KFOR where
it continues to air, hosted by Kevin Ogle. 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 has appeared as a television journalist in several films,
including Scream 4, The Double (2011 film), and Mooz-lum.