Bonnie J. Rough is the award-winning author of numerous essays and three books of nonfiction.

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Bonnie J. Rough is an author, journalist, and speaker focusing on families, health, education, parenting and sexuality. Her latest book Beyond Birds & Bees: Bringing Home a New Message to Our Kids about Sex, Love, and Equality is a groundbreaking inquiry into how we teach our children about bodies, sex, relationships, and equality—with revelatory, practical takeaways from the world-famous Dutch approach. Since its August 2018 release, Beyond Birds and Bees has seen coverage in many national, international, and regional outlets including NPR, The New York Times, Washington Post, Salon, Parents, Huffington Post, The Establishment, Chicago Tribune, Good Morning Washington, New York Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio, North Texas Public Radio, KUOW Seattle, King 5 TV News, New Day Northwest, and many other podcasts and media outlets.

Bonnie has written recently for the New York Times on teaching young children about boundaries and consent as well as the value of childhood crushes, for The Atlantic on both the link between sex ed and gender equality and the case for comprehensive sex ed, for The Cut on raising kids without sexual shame, and for the Washington Post on why we shouldn’t separate boys and girls for sex ed and how straight parents can raise kids to be allies with the LGBTQ+ community. Her previous books are The Girls, Alone and Carrier, winner of a 2011 Minnesota Book Award.

Rough is an essayist, memoirist, and journalist with an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa. An enterprising reporter, simpatico storyteller and thought-provoking speaker, she is fascinated by a range of social and scientific topics. Her art and aim is to bring challenging subjects comfortably and refreshingly to light. Her literary work has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications including the Best American series, the New York Times, The Atlantic, The CUT, Huffington Post, The Sun, Brain, Child and many others. She contributes essay-reviews to the Seattle Review of Books. Rough's award-winning writing and memorable talks on subjects ranging from science and sexuality to parenting and the writer’s life have reached audiences across the U.S. and abroad.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she has lived in the Midwest and in the Netherlands and now resides in Seattle with her family.