kids encyclopedia robot

Jill Twiss facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Jill Twiss is a talented American writer. She is well known for her work on the TV show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Jill is a senior writer for the show. She also plays a funny character called "Janice from Accounting." Jill wrote a popular children's book. It's called A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. This book is about Marlon Bundo, who is the pet rabbit of former Vice President Mike Pence. The book became a bestseller!

Growing Up and Discovering Theater

Jill Twiss was born in Redmond, Oregon. She grew up in six different U.S. states. This was because her father worked for the U.S. Forest Service. His job meant the family moved often. Jill studied public policy and music at the College of William & Mary. During this time, her parents moved to Custer, South Dakota. There, Jill became very interested in theater. After finishing college in 1998, she performed at the Black Hills Playhouse. She acted there in 1999 and 2000. Jill was accepted into law school in New York City. But she chose to join a children's theater group that toured. She finally moved to New York in 2001. She hoped to continue her acting career there.

Writing for Television

While in New York, Jill Twiss worked as an actress. She also did stand-up comedy. But she was looking for writing jobs too. She heard that HBO was creating a new show. It was Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. They were looking for writers through "blind auditions." This meant writers sent in samples without their names. Jill sent in her writing samples. They liked them and asked for more! After an interview with John Oliver himself, she was hired. As a writer for Last Week Tonight, Jill Twiss has won many awards. She has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series several times. This award celebrates the best writing for comedy and talk shows.

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

In March 2018, Jill Twiss wrote a children's book. It was called A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. She wrote it as part of her work on Last Week Tonight. The book tells a made-up story about Marlon Bundo. He is the real-life pet rabbit of former Vice President Mike Pence. The story in the book is about Marlon Bundo and another rabbit named Wesley. They fall in love and get married. Jill wrote this book to show that love and happiness are for everyone. It also teaches about being kind and accepting. The book was also a playful take on another book. That book was called Marlon Bundo's: A Day in the Life of the Vice President. It was written by Charlotte Pence and illustrated by Karen Pence. They are Mike Pence's daughter and wife. Their book also featured the family's pet rabbit. But Jill Twiss's book was a real children's story. It focused on love, equality, and democracy. When Jill's book was released, John Oliver talked about it on Last Week Tonight. He promoted it at the end of an episode. The book quickly became a bestseller! It was the number one book on Amazon the very next day. Everyone on the Last Week Tonight team was surprised by how popular it became. All the money made from the book is given to two charities. These are The Trevor Project and AIDS United. They help young people and support health programs.

The Someone New

Jill Twiss also wrote another book called The Someone New. It was published in June 2018. This story is about a chipmunk named Jitterbug. Jitterbug is scared of new things and changes. Then, a snail named Pudding moves into the woods. With help from her animal friends, Jitterbug learns to be brave. She learns to overcome her fear of change. This book teaches about being kind to strangers. Jill Twiss worked with a charity called KIND (Kids in Need of Defense). Both she and her publisher, HarperCollins, gave money to this charity. Jill Twiss and the book's illustrator, EG Keller, released a third book. It is about voting. It is called "Everyone Gets a Say." It was published on August 25, 2020.

Awards for Writing

Jill Twiss has won many important awards for her writing.

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Jill Twiss Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.