Our Children's Authors

Linda J. Acevedo is the author of Breaking to the Beat! illustrated by Frank Morrison, which received 5 starred reviews and was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, Bank StreetCollege of Education, and the New York Public Library.

As a young child, access to the public library and scores of books shaped Linda's dreams, imagination, and movement in the world. Her storytelling is sparked by her intuitive observations and her experiences as aLatinx growing up in humble yet hopeful beginnings. She is a member of SCBWI and lives in New York. 

Sara Holly Ackerman is a school librarian and the author of many books for children, including The Gabi That Girma Wore, Not Just the Driver!, and Challah for Shabbat Tonight.

Sara grew up building forts in the woods around her Wisconsin home. When she wasn’t in a fort reading, she was probably at the library, checking out more books. She still loves to read, dream, and write outdoors or in secret hideaways.

The author of several forthcoming picture books, Sara loves going on adventures with her family. Whether she is hiking a glacier, foraging along a mountain path, or tending her garden, she is always thinking about story.

Jacqueline Alcántara is the award winning illustrator of The Field and its companion Climb On!, both written by Baptiste Paul, Freedom Soup, written by New York Times bestselling author Tami Charles, Jump at the Sun, written by Newbery honoree Alicia D. Williams, and Your Mama, written by NoNieqa Ramos, which was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize. Her works have received multiple starred reviews and been named Best Books of the Year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness and The Horn Book, among others. Forthcoming books including Jam, too? written by JaNay Brown-Wood, Ordinary Days, written by Angela Joy, Wifredo’s Jungle, written by Newbery honoree Margarita Engle, and Tíos and Primos her debut as author and illustrator.

Jacqueline created the artwork for the Chicago Women’s March “Ladies Marching” poster, and has done editorial work for the Obama Foundation, NPR, The Chicago Reader, The Chicago Foundation for Women, The Southern Poverty Law Center, Elle Decor, and the University of Chicago, among others. She spends her days drawing, teaching, rehabbing houses, and adventuring with her dogs. She is fueled by dance music, carbs and coffee, and has a boundless interest in learning new skills and taking on new challenges.

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Ahmed Alghariz is an Emergency Trauma Dance and Expression Therapist and Educator. He is one of the founders of Camps Breakerz, a Palestinian dance company and school started in 2004 in the Nusierat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip where Ahmed grew up. The crew provides hope and healing through community and connection. Not only are they teaching dance and giving the children the opportunity to process their trauma, but they also provide food, clothes, and medical aid.

Muhammad Ali's core principles of confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect, and spirituality guided him and made him one of the most beloved symbols of peace and well-being in America and the world.First known for boxing, and later for his conscientious stance on the Vietnam War draft, Ali focused his awareness of the needs of his fellow citizens and those in the developing world to direct his good work. In addition to challenging racial and religious preconceptions at home, he served as a symbol of hope and a catalyst for constructive international dialogue, delivered sorely-needed medical supplies to an embargoed Cuba, provided more than 22 million meals to the world’s hungry, and helped secure the release of fifteen U.S. hostages from Iraq during the first Gulf War. The United Nations named him a Messenger of Peace, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as Amnesty International’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In September 2012, he was the recipient of the prestigious National Constitution Center Liberty Medal.Among his many projects, Muhammad cofounded the Muhammad Ali Center with his wife Lonnie, and contributed substantially to the awareness and research efforts regarding Parkinson’s disease.

Shawn Amos is a world-renowned Blues musician. Cookies & Milk is his debut middle grade novel, inspired by real-life events of growing up in a cookie store with his father Wally Amos, the founder of Famous Amos Cookies.

Micha Archer is an author and illustrator working in collage, oil and inks. She comes from a long line of artists and teachers. Her work for many years in a kindergarten led her to writing for young children. She creates her collages from papers she creates and patterned papers from around the world. Recognition of her stunning work includes the 2021 Caldecott Honor Award for WONDER WALKERS and the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for DANIEL FINDS A POEM.

She has a studio looking into the woods in Western Mass, and another in a tiny cabin high in the Costa Rican mountains and once she had one in a tower in Spain! Micha says, "Nature and me go way back. I grew up in a very active family. I had 3 older brothers and a younger sister. We had a rope swing in a huge maple with a treehouse in it. We took many, many camping trips and car trips to mountains all over the world. I have photos of me hiking in the Himalayas at 5, a volcano in Mexico at 9 and Colorado at 4. I live now at the base of a small mountain who I consider a friend of mine. We know it so well we hardly ever walk on a trail when we climb it. I find solace in Nature and love the challenge of trying to capture things like trees and water and reflections in my work."

Elana K. Arnold is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children’s books, including the Printz Honor winner DAMSEL, the National Book Award finalist WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF, and Global Read Aloud selection A BOY CALLED BAT and its sequels. THE BLOOD YEARS was the winner of the 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Award. Elana teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets.

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Andrew Auseon is the author of acclaimed novels for young people, including Funny Little Monkey, Jo-Jo and the Fiendish Lot, Alienated (with David O. Russell) and Freak Magnet, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year. His books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults, the Cybils, and state book awards. Auseon has an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College and a BA from Ohio University.

Kylie Lee Baker is a best-selling YA fantasy author and an adult horror author. Her debut novel, THE KEEPER OF NIGHT was an Indie Next and Book of the Month pick, find her at kylieleebaker.com.

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Karen Barton has worked across the U.S. in public, medical, and school libraries. She began writing fiction and screenplays as an undergraduate and received an MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute (AFI) Conservatory. Her work spans from humorous to heart-wrenching and centers people of color.

In addition to writing stories in various formats, Karen may be found singing, trying to unravel mysteries in her genealogy or editing resumes for friends. Karen was born into a military family in Long Beach, CA, then was later raised in San Antonio, TX. She now resides in Los Angeles.

Artist and writer Mira Bartók is the author of The Memory Palace (Free Press), winner of the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography. Her writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and noted in The Best American Essays 1999 and other anthologies. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants for her art and for her writing.

James Lance Bass is an American pop singer, dancer, actor, film and television producer, and author.

Katherine is the critically acclaimed author and illustrator of fifteen children’s books published around the world, including Perfect Pigeons, Trouble, and the popular graphic novel series, Cranky Chicken. Her books have received glowing reviews in The New York Times, starred Kirkus reviews and have been named CBC Children’s Choice books. She is regularly booked to speak in schools, libraries and at festivals and she is a passionate advocate for literacy and the arts. In another life, Katherine worked for many years as a pediatric occupational therapist, specializing as a children’s counsellor. She grew up by the beach in Australia and after eleven years living abroad in Canada, she has now returned to live in Meanjin / Brisbane.

Marion Dane Bauer is the author of more than 100 books, ranging from board books and picture books through easy readers, both fiction and nonfiction, and middle-grade and young-adult novels, including her Newbery Honor title in 1987, ON MY HONOR.  She was one of the founders and the first Faculty Chair of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Mary Jane Begin is an award-winning illustrator for several children's picture books including The Wind in the Willows, A Mouse Told His Mother, and Little Mouse's Painting. She is also a professor at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Melissa Benoist is an American actress based in Los Angeles who is best known for her roles in Glee, Whiplash, and Supergirl (in which she plays Supergirl). She and Jessica Benoist, her sister, are lifelong readers of science fiction and fantasy and are particularly passionate about using fantasy as a vehicle for making topical themes accessible to young readers. She lives in Kansas.

Sheryl Berk most recently collaborated with Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn DiScala on her memoir, Wise Girl, and with Britney Spears on her autobiography, Stages. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Peter, and their own little miracle, daughter Carrie.

Jennifer Chambliss Bertman is the New York Times bestselling author of the Book Scavenger series, Sisterhood of Sleuths, and A Good Deed Can Grow, illustrated by Holly Hatam. Book Scavenger was an Indie Next Top Ten pick, an Amazon Book of the Year, a Bank Street College Book of the Year, an NCTE Notable Book, and has been nominated for over twenty state award and honor lists, among other accolades. The series was translated into more than a dozen languages. Sisterhood of Sleuths was an Amazon Top 20 Children’s Book of the Year and a Common Sense Media selection. A Good Deed Can Grow, Jennifer's debut picture book, was honored as one of the Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids & Teens in 2023. She holds an MFA in creative writing and has worked in a variety of roles with children and in publishing. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Jennifer now lives in Colorado with her family.

Lynne Bertrand’s first novel, CITY OF THE UNCOMMON THIEF, is an intricate YA fantasy about a quarantined city gripped by fear and the war that might save it. Her previous books, all picture books, include a Booklist Editors’ Choice, and a New York Times Editors' Pick.

CITY OF THE UNCOMMON THIEF was published by Dutton Books for Young Readers. Described as precise, epic, masterful, and fascinating, it was a BookPage Best Book; a Tor.com Reviewers’ Choice; and a BCCB Blue Ribbon Book. In a starred review, Kirkus called it ★ ”A macabre marvel of a tale.”  The author's affinity for YA fiction prompted this ambitious project, for as she says, to be 13, 15, 17 is to be human times 10. "It’s a time of unprotected freedom, death, work, love. A good place for a writer."

Cari Best was born in a big city, grew up in a big city, went to school in a big city, and writes about kids in big cities, but she herself is happiest in the country.

She has been a translator of French, a children's librarian, an editorial director at a film company and now a very happy writer who loves packets of seeds for birthdays, walking in forests, finding rare sea shells around the world, eating pistachio ice cream, but most of all - babies.

Julie Bliven recently launched her writing career with the debut picture book SOMETIMES SHY. Separately, however, she has been an editor of books for young children for more than a decade. She holds a master’s degree in children’s literature from Simmons University, where she has mentored and taught in the MFA program. Julie lives in Yarmouth, Maine, with her husband, son, and their dog, Lucy.

Alex Boersma is a hugely talented illustrator and artist who did illustrations for Spying on Whales and who works with Stanford University, the American Museum of Natural History, and Duke University Marine Lab, and has done editorial illustrations for Emergence magazine and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Tom Booth is an author and illustrator of eight children’s books. Most recently he illustrated Malamander with author Thomas Taylor.

Todd Boss is an author, installation artist, inventor, librettist, podcaster, and film producer in Minneapolis. His fourth poetry collection from W. W. Norton & Co. is SOMEDAY THE PLAN OF A TOWN. His lyrics have been performed at Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. His work has been recognized with Grammy nominations, Emmy awards, and by the National Book Foundation. Todd is the founding Artistic Director of Motionpoems, a production company that has turned more than 150 contemporary poems into short films. His podcast, There’s a Poem in That, launched in 2023. 

In 2018, Todd sold all his possessions and circled the globe in a series of 30+ house-sits. He is the author of THE BOY WHO SAID WOW.

Akemi Dawn Bowman is the author of critically acclaimed YA contemporary titles such as Starfish, Summer Bird Blue, and the forthcoming Harley in the Sky. The Infinity Courts is her YA sci-fi debut.

Ann Braden writes books about kids learning to stand up for themselves even when it’s hard. Her debut middle grade novel, THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS, was called one of “the essential middle school reads from the last decade” by Edutopia, and FLIGHT OF THE PUFFIN sparked a coast-to-coast read aloud with tens of thousands of students taking part.  Her newest book, OPINIONS AND OPOSSUMS, was a finalist for the New England Book Award and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Ann founded the Local Love Brigade, which sends love postcards to those who are facing hate. She also founded GunSenseVT, a grassroots group which helped pass landmark common ground gun safety legislation. Previously a middle school teacher, Ann lives in southern Vermont with her husband, two kids, and two insatiable cats.

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Calista Brill is a writer and editor based in New England. She writes stories about boats, cats, dragons, construction equipment, elephants, and many other things. She likes reading comic books, singing very loudly, and eating lime Popsicles. Her latest book is Creaky Acres, with Nilah Magruder, a middle-grade graphic novel about riding horses and finding your people.

Waka is a Stanford graduate with a B.A. in International Relations and a Master’s in Secondary Education. She is a two time Oregon Book Award winner, and has authored the following children’s books through Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins Children’s Books:

While I Was Away (2021) is her debut novel.

Dream, Annie, Dream (2022) is her first work of historical fiction.

The Very Unfortunate Wish of Melony Yoshimura (2023) is a contemporary re-imagining of the Japanese folktale, “The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku.”

Perfect, her debut picture book (illustrated by Yuko Jones), publishes on Oct. 1, 2024.

Michael Brumm is a writer/producer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He’s also been a Consulting Producer for At Home with Amy Sedaris and a 4-time Emmy-winning writer for The Colbert Report. He is the co-author of the children’s book HIS ROYAL DOGNESS, and has written for various magazines and video games. Michael currently lives in New York City with his wife, Camille, and their two little cryptids, Henry and Bea. THE CRYPTID CLUB, a 4-book graphic series is published by Harper Alley.

Anne Brusatte completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Bristol and earned a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from The City College of the City University of New York. She has taught elementary school for more than a decade in both the United States and the United Kingdom. She lives in Scotland, the setting of her first book for children, Dugie the Dinosaur.

Over the past 35 years, Robert Burleigh has published more than 50 children’s picture books, collaborating with such prominent illustrators as Wendell Minor, Ed Young, Mike Wimmer, Barry Blitt, Stephen Johnson, Katy Wu, and Sterling Hundley.

His books have won numerous awards. Born and raised in Chicago, Robert Burleigh graduated from DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana) and later received an MA in humanities from the University of Chicago. In addition to writing, Robert Burleigh paints regularly under the art name Burleigh Kronquist (www.Burleighkronquist.com) and has shown work in one-person and group shows in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere around the country.

Grace Byers is an actor and activist who stars in Fox’s hit series Empire. As a multiracial young girl and a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), Grace was bullied throughout her childhood. Her first book, I Am Enough, was born out of her desire to empower young girls against the effects of bullying. In her spare time, she volunteers with the nonprofit antibullying organization Saving Our Daughters. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, actor Trai Byers, and is currently working on her third book.

A painter, playwright, and television creator of Tutti Frutti, Byrne has designed album covers for The Beatles, Donovan, Gerry Rafferty and Billy Connolly. He has several paintings hanging in The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.

Faith Capalia is an illustrator, author, and teacher based in Portland, OR. She received a BFA in illustration from the Pacific Northwest College of Art with an emphasis in picture book illustration. Faith's debut book "Melvina Whitmoore (More or Less a Horror Story) (HarperCollins, 2023) was praised for its distinctive illustrations and SEL themes. Her work emphasizes color, shape, and texture with influence from midcentury picture books and art history, and is created both digitally and traditionally, using gouache and colored pencil.

She has a passion for scary stories, fantasy, and making jokes. Faith holds a philosophy of supporting children in the exploration of all things weird, creative, and fantastical and uses her work in publishing and teaching to facilitate that exploration.  Faith spends her days teaching preschool art and reading picture books, and spends her evenings relaxing with her cats, Broccoli and Wormy.

David Catrow is the illustrator or author of over 100 books, including the wildly successful, Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon series and the Max Spaniel series for Scholastic. Many of Mr. Catrow’s books are best sellers, including The New York Times listed I AIN’T GONNA PAINT and I LIKE MYSELF.

In addition to publishing he is also a production designer having worked on such films as HORTON HEARS A WHO, DESPICIBLE ME and STUART LITTLE, as well as early development work on the live action movie ENCHANTED.

David Catrow is a self-taught artist. Having originally received his education as a biologist, he has worked as a medical illustrator and later as a syndicated editorial cartoonist where his cartoons were syndicated to over 1,000 daily newspapers across the US and Canada.

Angela Cervantes is the award-winning author of several popular contemporary middle-grade novels published by Scholastic including, Lety Out Loud, which was named a Pura Belpré Honor Book by the American Library Association and selected for the KidsIndie Next List,  Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring, which was named a Junior Library Guild Selection and included in the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Master List, Allie, First at Last, which received a starred review from Kirkus, and Gaby, Lost and Found, named Best Youth Chapterbook by the International Latino Book Awards and a Bank Street College of Education’s Best Book of the Year. Angela also authored Maritza: Lead with Your Heart, an American Girl book, and the junior novelizations for Disney/Pixar’s animated films Coco and Encanto. Her latest work, a spooky middle grade novel titled The Cursed Moon (Scholastic), has also been included in the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List for 2024-2025. Angela’s forthcoming books include the first two titles in a new middle grade fantasy-adventure series titled Anomalies 53, which will be published by HarperCollins.

Angela is the daughter of a retired middle-school teacher who instilled in her a love of reading and storytelling. When Angela is not writing, she enjoys conducting school visits, traveling and reading. Angela writes, reads and dreams from her home in Kansas City.

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e.E. Charlton-Trujillo is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and 2024 Michael L. Printz Award winner for their short fiction in The Collectors: Stories. Charlton-Trujillo has written several books for teens and children, notably the Fat Angie series, an ALA Stonewall Award Winner and Lambda Literary Finalist, and Prizefighter en Mi Casa, a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Winner. Their Lupe Lopez picture book series, co-authored with NYT Bestseller Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Joe Cepeda, garnered the International Latino Book Award, Junior Library Guild Gold Standard and was a Bank Street Best Spanish Book. A Girl Can Build Anything also co-authored with Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Keisha Morris, was a NSTA Best STEM Book Winner.

One of the most dynamic and inspiring speakers today, e.E. spends much of their time in schools and libraries celebrating the power and possibility of young people's stories. An MFA and NEH lecturer, Trujillo is also the co-founder of the youth literacy nonprofit Never Counted Out.

Amy Cherrix grew up in quirky Asheville, NC, not far from a formerly top secret NASA tracking station--a fact that fueled her early fascination with hidden history. For six years she had the best job in the world as the children's book buyer at the fiercely independent Malaprop’s Bookstore & Cafe in Asheville, NC.

Amy's books have earned starred reviews, been chosen as Indie Next selections, won Junior Library Guild awards, and named to best-books-of-the-year lists by The Horn Book, The New York Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, and Bank Street College. She is the author of the acclaimed young adult and middle grade non-fiction books: Virus Hunters: How Science Protects People When Outbreaks and Pandemics Strike, a finalist for the SCBWI Golden Kite Award; and In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race. Amy is also the author of two non-fiction picture books: Animal Superpowers and Animal Architects, as well as the picture book, Good Night, Little Bookstore. Amy lives in North Carolina.

Yangsook Choi is the author of the bestselling classic THE NAME JAR. Growing up in Korea, she began drawing at age four and delighted in telling her grandmother scary stories at night. After moving to New York to pursue her art, she has written and illustrated many books for young readers. Her books have been acclaimed as a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year, an American Library Association Notable Book, and with an International Literacy Association's Children's Book Award.

Arree loves storytelling and art, and pursued his love of art at Art Center College of Design. He has worked in the Entertainment Industry as a Concept Artist and Art Director. In 2010, Arree won first place at the SCBWI Western Washington Portfolio show launching his passion for children’s books.

Arree continues to work on picture book stories and has a middle-grade novel encompassing the Immigrant experience releasing soon. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Julien Chung is an award-winning illustrator, who works with editors and art directors to make wonderful, thought-provoking and colourful picture books for kids. He is inspired by poster art and loves bright color and simple shapes. His style is bold, bright and graphic with a vintage vibe. With 12 published books and several more in the works, he has earned accolades for his illustrations from 3x3 magazine, American Illustration, the Society of Illustrators, Applied Arts, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and the Nami Concours, to name a few.

His artistic career began in his childhood home—inspired by the bright visuals of his mother’s children’s book collection and his father’s love of modern architecture and Scandinavian furniture. Julien likes chocolate ice cream (preferably with chocolate chunks), sketching with rainbow pencils (you never know what color the line will be), and dogs. He lives in Montreal with his wife. Even though Montreal is full of skyscrapers, there’s a park nearby with squirrels, woodpeckers, deer, and Canada geese. Julien likes to draw them all.

J. Anderson Coats is the author of books for kids and teens. She has received four Junior Library Guild selections, two Washington State Book Awards, and earned starred reviews from Kirkus, School Library Journal, the Horn Book Review, and Shelf Awareness.

Pan Cooke is a graphic novelist and cartoonist best known for his viral Instagram account @thefakepan.

Susan Cooper is the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her classic five-book fantasy sequence The Dark Is Rising won the Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor and has sold millions of copies worldwide. She is also the author of VICTORY, a Booklist Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth book and a Washington Post Top Ten for Children novel; KING OF SHADOWS, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor book; THE BOGGART; and many other acclaimed novels for young readers and listeners.

David Cooper is a multi-media artist and muralist, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His work has appeared on book covers, ad campaigns, and editorial publications, such as The New York Times, Print Magazine, and POZ Magazine and as illustrations for picture books. He has painted large-scale murals at Miami Art Basel, Brooklyn, and other locales to be discovered by urban explorers. His work has been exhibited at The New York Society of Illustrators, Illustration West, American Illustration and 3x3 Magazine. He teaches at The Pratt Institute and Marywood University.

Caroline Corrigan is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator living and working in upstate New York. Her illustrations and design work can be found in books such as The Ultimate Easy Screen Printing Book and in Terre magazine. Her first children’s book, Women Artists A-Z, was published by Dial Books for Young Readers in February 2020.

Kayla Cottingham is a YA author and librarian. Their first book, My Dearest Darkest, was a New York Times and Publisher's Weekly bestseller, an ALA 2023 Rainbow Book List Selection, a New England Book Award finalist, made The Children’s Book Council’s 2023 Young Adult Favorites Award List, and a Barnes & Noble YA Monthly Pick. Their sophomore novel, This Delicious Death, published in April 2023 from Sourcebooks Fire and received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Kayla lives in Boston where they love to go hiking in the woods, play RPGs, and snuggle on the couch with their ridiculously large black cat, Squid.

Dare Coulter's art is a space for joy and reflection. She is an award-winning sculptor, muralist, and illustrator who focuses primarily on depictions of black families and people, and is the excited recipient of the 2024 Coretta Scott King Illustrator book award. Dare creates imagery that reflects the fullness and vibrancy of the black cultural experience. In 2023 she illustrated Kwame Alexander's "An American Story" (5*) and Dr. Ebony Joy Wilkins' "Zora the Story Keeper" (3*). In 2024 Dare has exciting upcoming projects including a 190ft public art sculpture in Durham, NC, an upcoming release of Jessica Care Moore's "Her Crown Shines: For Ketanji Brown Jackson" and a second book with Kwame Alexander. While Dare is pursuing her dream of creating monumental sculptures to black joy all over the world, she is having a great time visiting schools and painting murals, and sharing her passion for art with the world. Follow her for the journey on social media!

Born and raised by the Great Lakes, Alex Crespo writes about queer love, magic, and all the ways they intersect. When not writing, you can find him making art or daydreaming about Mothman. He currently lives in Chicago with an endless anime watchlist and his black cat Hex. Saint Juniper’s Folly is his debut novel.

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Mark Crilley is the author and illustrator of more than fifty books and graphic novels, including The Akiko series and The Drawing Lesson, for which he has received fourteen Eisner Award nominations. His latest book, The Mighty Onion, was selected as one of Amazon’s Best Books of 2024. His work has been featured in USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, and on CNN Headline News. His popular YouTube videos have been viewed more than 400 million times.

Melanie Crowder (she/her) is an educator, speaker, and the acclaimed author of nine novels and two picture books for young readers. Her work has received numerous awards and starred reviews, and has been featured in publications such as The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Wall Street Journal. Kirkus reviews declares that her 2021 historical YA novel, Mazie, “deserves a standing ovation” while her 2022 contemporary YA, Jumper, “is never less than riveting.” Her YA historical novel in verse, Audacity, was awarded the Jefferson Cup and Bulletin Blue Ribbon, and was named a National Jewish Book Award finalist. Her middle grade novel, Three Pennies, was named a New York Public Library Best Book for Kids. An Uninterrupted View of the Sky was a Walden Award finalist. A Nearer Moon was declared a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, the New York Public Library, and Bank Street College. The Lighthouse between the Worlds was a Colorado Book Award finalist, while her debut novel, Parched, was a Junior Library selection. A West Coast girl at heart, Melanie lives with her family under the big blue Colorado sky. She holds an MFA in writing and teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts. For more information, visit her online at melaniecrowder.com.

Sarah Park Dahlen is an author and scholar. As a child, she was a voracious reader but didn’t see Korean Americans in books until she got to college. When she learned that Linda Sue Park had won the John Newbery Medal, and An Na had won the Printz Medal, their books inspired her to become a professor so she could research Asian American children’s books and work with librarians, authors, illustrators, and other people who care about children and books! Dr. Sarah now also writes for children. She is represented by Tricia Toney Lawrence of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

Tara Dairman writes novels and picture books about kids with strong passions and big questions about the world. Tara’s books include The Girl from Earth’s End; the All Four Stars series; The Great Hibernation; Go, Baby, Go (illustrated by Oliva Amoah); and Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy (illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan). These titles have been named to best-of-the-year lists by A Mighty Girl, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and more. Tara has traveled to more than 90 countries, and currently resides in Colorado.

“She/her” or “they/them” are great pronouns to use when referring to Tara.

Linda Davick is a writer/illustrator who started her work in children’s literature after a long career in animation and design. After working with clients like Amazon, Crayola, Klutz Press, and Sesame Street, her first illustrated book appeared on The New York Times’ Best Seller list. That book was a seasonal counting book that launched the popular ""Ten Friends"" series. Her next book, I LOVE YOU NOSE, I LOVE YOU TOES! won an Ezra Jack Keats honor. Since then, she’s written and illustrated many picture books including Cynthia Rylant’s WE LOVE YOU, ROSIE; Elana K. Arnold’s WHAT RILEY WORE; and Judy Sierra’s WE LOVE OUR SCHOOL! Currently she is working on two forthcoming books with Beach Lane.

Linda lives by the Rio Grande Nature Preserve in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Danielle Davis grew up in Singapore and Hong Kong and now lives in Downtown Los Angeles. She is a writer, collaborator, teacher, and independent picture book editor. Her goal with every project is to offer kids validation, comfort, and hope. And she enjoys helping writers tap into their own unique voices and visions.

Danielle's first picture book was TO MAKE, illustrated by Mags DeRoma, published with HarperCollins. Her first middle grade novel was ZINNIA AND THE BEES. She loves visiting schools and libraries to read and craft with kids, speaking about her work, and writing and producing animation projects. Danielle has an M.A. in literature and creative writing and had the privilege of teaching English to middle school and then community college students.

Auriane Desombre is a former English teacher currently pursuing an MA in English Lit at NYU and an MFA in Creative Writing for Children at The New School. She writes YA fiction to inspire and encourage young readers in the LGBTQ+ community. I Think I Love You is her debut.

Ani DiFranco is a Grammy Award-winning singer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, songwriter, activist, businesswoman, and New York Times bestselling author. She has released more than 20 albums, and is one of the first independent musicians to create her own label, Righteous Babe Records (based in Buffalo, NY). She is widely known as an activist and feminist icon, and the Righteous Babe Foundation supports causes ranging from abortion rights to gay visibility.

Katy Duffield is the award-winning author of more than forty books for children. She writes both fiction and nonfiction on a wide range of topics including books about a farmer who lost his cows, a house looking for a home, orangutans, venom extractors, penguin protecting dogs, an alien with a cold, a little gal with a big voice, and many others. Her book, Crossings: Extraordinary Structures for Extraordinary Animals, illustrated by Mike Orodán, was named a Kirkus Best Picture Book of 2020, an ALSC Notable Book, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and a 2020 Eureka Gold Book Award. The book is also included on many state reading lists and was chosen as a 2021 Maryland Blue Crab Honor Book, a 2022-22 Maine Chickadee Honor Book, and the winner of Pennsylvania’s Keystone to Reading Award (Intermediate level).

Katy has a soft spot in her heart for nature and animals of all kinds. She loves spending time outdoors, hiking, and camping. She also enjoys creating mixed media art and observing and photographing the birds, deer, possums, (and once even a fox family!) that visit her backyard. For more information about Katy and her work, please visit www.katyduffield.com

‍Over the years, Dunbar has worked as a drama critic, journalist, and marketing manager, and has written on topics as diverse as traditional Irish music, court cases, and theater. She lives in Nashville with her husband and daughter.

Ivan Ehlers is an Ecuadorian-American cartoonist and writer with work appearing in The New Yorker, Mad Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Wired, the Boston Globe, Air Mail and many other publications. Brand collaborations include: Exploding Kittens, WeWork, Yale University and Donald Glover (Childish Gambino). In 2021, he was nominated for a National Cartoonist Society award for Advertising/Product Illustration. He is a lifelong resident of the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The embodiment of genius and the pre-eminent scientist of the modern age, his theories and discoveries have profoundly affected the way people view and understand the world and their place in it. Einstein was also known as a philosopher and humanist who was keenly interested in and concerned about the affairs of the world.

His sagacious, wise, and humorous quotations, letters, and articles are widely used throughout popular culture as well as in historical and academic works. Einstein’s name and image are instantly recognizable everywhere in the world.

Sudanese by way of D.C., Safia Elhillo is the author of Girls That Never Die, The January Children, Home Is Not a Country, and Bright Red Fruit, and co-editor of the anthology Halal If You Hear Me. Winner of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets, the California Book Award, the Arab American Book Award, and the Brunel International African Poetry Prize, she is also the recipient of a Cave Canem Fellowship, a Wallace Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University, and a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship from The Poetry Foundation. Her work has appeared in Best American Poetry, The Penguin Book of Migration Literature, and The New Yorker, among others.

Michael Emberley is a children’s author and illustrator based in Dublin, Ireland. His numerous works include the iconic nonfiction title It’s Perfectly Normal (Candlewick), the bestselling series You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You (Little Brown), and, more recently, Ms. Brooks’ Story Nook (Knopf). His latest children’s picture book is I Can Make a Train Noise with Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, published by Neal Porter Books.

Actor and producer Omar Epps was first introduced to audiences as Q in Ernest Dickerson’s cult classic Juice, opposite Tupac Shakur. He has gone on to star in the beloved romance Love & Basketball, as Dr. Eric Foreman on massively popular TV show House, as Jeff Cole in In Too Deep, as Isaac Johnson on Shooter, and as Darnell on This Is Us. He is the author of a memoir, From Fatherless to Fatherhood. Nubia: The Awakening is his first novel.

Jill Esbaum lives on a family farm in eastern Iowa, where she enjoys writing fiction and nonfiction for kids. New in 2025 are Polecat Has a Superpower and It's Corn Picking Time! Other titles include Stinkbird Has a Superpower, Parrotfish Has a Superpower, Bird Girl, Jack Knight's Brave Flight, We Love Babies!, How to Grow a Dinosaur, Frankenbunny, If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party, Elwood Bigfoot, Teeny Tiny Toady, and many more. Jill is also the author of a graphic early reader series, Thunder & Cluck. Several of her books have been nominated for (or won) state awards, and her I Am Cow, Hear Me Moo! won the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrator’s Crystal Kite award.

Jill is the creator of the Picture Book Builders blog and co-founder of the Whispering Woods Picture Book Writing Workshop/Retreat.

Emily Ettlinger is a cartoonist, illustrator, and teacher based in almost-DC, Maryland. She holds a BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her debut graphic novel SKELEANOR THE DECOMPOSER (Penguin Workshop, 2023) was described as "a gentle, winning tale” by Kirkus. A Spanish edition was released in 2024, published by Astronave. Emily loves using art to explore both the silly and the serious (with the scales perpetually tipped towards the former). She works both digitally and traditionally with a focus on ink, gouache, and watercolor. She teaches part-time at a local arts center where the children mock her project examples.

Max Fischer is a trans Pushcart Prize–nominated poet who holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults. His work focuses on queer joy told through the lens of unconventional narrative structures and the merging of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Originally from the Midwest, he now lives in Brooklyn, writing poems at the pier.

Although Susan loves to write about long-ago and faraway places, she can’t bring those worlds to life without grounding them in the details of this one. To that end, she has explored lava tubes and sea caves; spent the night in a lighthouse; traveled along the Silk Road in Iran; ridden in a glider, on a camel, and on a donkey; and cut up (already dead!) baby chicks and mice for a gyrfalcon’s dinner. Collectively, her books have been translated into seven languages; accolades include the American Library Association’s Notable Books and Best Books for Young Adults, BCCB Blue Ribbon Books, and School Library Journal’s Best Books.

Susan has an M.A. in English from the University of Michigan and taught for many years in the M.F.A. in Writing for Children program at Vermont College. She lives in Bryan, Texas, with her husband, historian R.J.Q. Adams, and their dog, Neville.

Nancy Bo Flood is the author of more than 20 books, reflecting her experiences and the many places she has lived and worked. Her books include novels for young adults, collections of legends from the Pacific, picture books, poetry, and non-fiction topics ranging from world hunger to the role of water in our lives.  Her awards include the Sigurd Olsen Nature Writing Award, inclusion in the White Raven International list of best children’s books, Junior Library Guild Gold Standard, Colorado Book Award, several Notable Books for a Global Society recognitions, among others. I WILL DANCE is about Eva, a real girl with severe cerebral palsy, who is determined to dance--not pretend, but real. 

Debbi Michiko Florence, a third-generation Japanese American (sansei), is the acclaimed author of more than 25 books for children and tweens. Her books have received starred reviews, JLG Selections, and inclusion on lists such as Amazon Best Books and the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best. She loves to write stories about friendship, family, and first crushes. Her middle-grade novels include Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai and her new mystery series Last Chance Academy. She is also the author of the award-winning Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series, which has sold more than 150,000 copies, and picture books, including the forthcoming Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata. A native Californian, Debbi now lives in Connecticut where she writes in her studio, The Word Nest.

Artist and poet Douglas Florian was born and raised in New York City and educated at Queens College and the School of Visual Art. Florian was a cartoonist for the New Yorker before a chance encounter with William Cole’s anthology of children’s verse, OH, THAT'S RIDICULOUS (1977), inspired him to try his hand at illustration.

Florian’s illustrated poetry books for children often incorporate elements of collage, watercolor, and gouache on a surface of primed paper bags. He frequently takes the natural world as his subject, using wordplay, neologisms, rhyme, and humor to engage young readers. Douglas Florian is the creator of dozens of acclaimed picture books. He lives with his family in New York.

JR and Vanessa Ford are nationally recognized advocates for trans youth.

Janet Fox is the award-winning author of twelve books for young readers, including three YA novels, 3 middle grade novels, two picture books, and one middle grade non-fiction, with more books coming. Her most recent books include the middle grade CARRY ME HOME (Simon & Schuster 2021) about a pair of unhoused sisters, and picture book WINTERGARDEN (Neal Porter Books 2023, illustrated by Jasu Hu) which received four starred reviews. The middle grade THE MYSTERY OF MYSTIC MOUNTAIN (Simon & Schuster 2024) is a kid-driven hunt for a long-lost outlaw treasure set on an aging dude ranch in Montana and is a finalist in the Juvenile category for the Edgar Award from Mystery Writers of America.

Janet is a book coach and teacher and has an MFA in writing for children from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and lives with her husband and their friendly yellow Lab in the Montana mountains. You can find more at www.janetsfox.com and follow her on writing craft here: https://janetfox.substack.com/

Jessica Fries-Gaither is an award-winning author of books for children and teachers. Her writing introduces readers to the wonder of the natural world and the work of scientists, past and present. Jessica holds bachelor's degrees in Biological Sciences (B.S.) and Anthropology (B.A.) and a Master's in Education (M.Ed.) from the University of Notre Dame. A veteran science educator with over 25 years of experience, she is currently an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the Library of Congress. Prior to the fellowship, she was the Science Department Chair and Lower School Science Specialist at Columbus School for Girls. She lives in Columbus, OH with her husband and lovable but rambunctious dogs. She also enjoys reading, cooking and baking, and spending time outside. Learn more at her website, www.jessicafriesgaither.com and follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jfriesgaither, on Instagram at @JessicaFGWrites, and on Blue Sky at @jessicafgwrites.bsky.social.

Michael and Ava Gardner are the father-daughter team behind the viral Instagram account @daddydressedmebymg.

Karen Gebbia is a children’s book writer and naturalist based in California. She believes that books help children wonder, think, understand, and feel. Before writing for children, Karen spent two decades writing, publishing, editing, and teaching scholarly writing.

Andrew Geha is an award-winning playwright and theater teacher. He has worked at Friends Academy, a Quaker school in Locust Valley, NY, since 2001. He won the New England Theatre Conference’s 2018 Aurand Harris Memorial Playwriting Award for In Dreams, I am Invincible. He also won the American Alliance for Theatre and Education’s 2025 Playwrights in our Schools Award for Monsters!

You can find his comedy, ShakeSPLOSION!!!, and the musical, We Didn’t Have Time To be Scared, at YouthPLAYS, and his science-fiction high school romance, The Right Now, at Gitelman & Goode. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Acting and a Master's Degree in Educational Theater, both from New York University. More of his work is at www.andrewgeha.com

Rhiannon Giddens is a Grammy Award- and MacArthur “Genius” grant-winning American artist of folk and traditional music, played on fiddle and banjo, who is rigorously committed to reclaiming Black contributions to the genre.

An American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor, Goldberg received a Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning in 1948. He was also a founding member and the first president of the National Cartoonists Society.

Gia Gordon is a disabled author, speaker, youth activist, and former educator. Her 2024 YA debut, The Redemption of Daya Keane earned a starred review from School Library Journal and is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her 2024 MG debut, My So-Called Family, earned two starred reviews (Kirkus, Publishers Weekly), was named a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, named a Kirkus Best Books of 2024 for middle grade, named a Bookshop.org Best Books of the Year for Kids' Chapter Books, and has been longlisted for the Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Award. Common themes in Gia's work include chosen and found family, hidden identities, and living one's truth. As a dedicated children's literacy advocate, Gia is co-founder of Never Counted Out, a nonprofit that sends children's books of all levels and genres to programs and classrooms where access to reading material isn't readily available. When she’s not writing, Gia can be found thrifting or turning no-longer-wanted household goods into beautifully reimagined designs.

Markelle Grabo retells the fairy tales that frustrate her, which, based on that guideline, could include nearly all of them. Her debut YA novel, Call Forth a Fox, is a sapphic twist on "Snow White and Rose Red" that received a starred review from Shelf Awareness for its “beautifully layered construction of identity” and was selected for the American Library Association's 2025 Rainbow Book List. Markelle earned her master’s degree in creative writing for children and young adults from Hamline University and lives in the Greater Chicago Area with her husband and their two cats, Matcha and Kava.

Charlie Greenwald is the co-author of THE RESCUES book series (Red Comet Press), written with his father, Tommy, and the author of the forthcoming picture book JEFF-O'LANTERN (Magination Press). He has also co-written several plays with Jeremy Vandroff.

Passionate about storytelling, Charlie explores the healing power of animals and mental health through a comedic lens, among other themes. He lives in the Northeast with his wife and their beloved rescue dog. A decent lasagna chef, a terrible frisbee player, and an even worse pianist, he does his best writing in the middle of the night—like a scribbling vampire who avoids sunlight at all costs. Learn more at CharlieGreenwald.com.

Tommy Greenwald is the author of many books for children and young adults, including GAME CHANGER, which was a YALSA Top Ten Pick for Reluctant Readers, an Amazon Best Book of The Month, a Junior Library Guild Gold Premiere selection, and the winner of the Connecticut, Kentucky and Rhode Island Middle School Reading Awards; RIVALS, an Amazon Best Book of The Month and Junior Library Guild Selection; and DINGED, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection. His new book THE RESCUES: FINDING HOME is a collaboration with his son Charlie, and illustrator Shiho Pate.

Tommy is also the author of the CHARLIE JOE JACKSON, CRIMEBITERS, PROJECT Z and GOOD SPORTS LEAGUE series, the Co-Founder of Spotco Advertising, an entertainment advertising agency in New York City, and the lyricist and co-bookwriter of JOHN & JEN, an off-Broadway musical.

Harleen Gupt is a passionate storyteller with a background as vibrant as her authentic tales. Her introspective creativity is deeply influenced by her rich life experiences and a deep love of nature and all its creatures. Growing up in India, where picture books at the time were almost unheard of, Harleen was immersed in the magical world of religious sagas and real-life adventures of inspirational icons vividly recounted by family elders. She credits her son for introducing her to the fantastical world of picture books. The first board books she ever read were Goodnight Moon and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, which were baby shower gifts. Reading enchanting tales with dreamy illustrations to her son, she realized how stories could shape young minds and hearts. Her son’s early efforts at writing and illustrating books made from self-stapled pages were a delightful spark of inspiration.

Harleen holds degrees in engineering and business, and her artistic talents shine in writing, design, and painting. She has worked with the limb-loss community and the Amputee Coalition for over a decade, spoken at conferences, and written for InMotion magazine. She is the recipient of the Amputee Coalition’s Values in Action Award for her work. She also serves on the board of St. Mark’s Episcopal School. Harleen lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband AG and their son Atharv Jay. Through her writing, she strives to empower her readers to embrace differences, overcome challenges, and believe in the power of their unique voices.

A.B. Hamilton is a fantasy writer from south London. A school teacher by trade, he spends his free time crafting rich stories that explore themes of identity and belonging. His favourite authors include Ursula K. Le Guin, N.K. Jemisin, and Ted Chiang. He is an advocate for men’s mental health and supports increased inclusivity and representation across all levels of the publishing industry.

Kersten Hamilton was born in a trailer in the mountains of southern New Mexico. By their sixth birthday they knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. A writer! This would prove to be difficult, as a wayward fairy (apparently not invited to Kersten’s christening) gifted the child with dyslexia and dysgraphia topped with a dollop of autism spectrum disorder. Unaware of the academic and social trouble ahead, Kersten set off to have an exciting childhood tracking caribou and arctic wolves across in Alaska, catching tiny tree frogs in the swamps and rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, and chasing dust devils and rattlesnakes across the high desert of New Mexico. Kersten escaped electrocution when a typhoon blew power lines down over yet another trailer in a swamp in Washington state, and didn’t drown when a station wagon spun out of control onto thin lake ice in Alaska. Most of the bullets missed, none of the incidents with bears, snakes, wolves, or angry moose were fatal.

Now, Kersten is Mom to several grown children, Grimm to more than several grandchildren, a fearless defender of bugs and other beasties, and a writer! Hooray!

Brooks Hansen is a novelist, screenwriter, and illustrator. He is the author nine books, including novels both for adults and young readers. His first novel, The Chess Garden, was named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, and he won a Guggenheim Fellowship for his novel John the Baptist. His new novel, The Unknown Woman of the Seine, is forthcoming from Delphinium Books.

Tony and Emmy award-winning stage and screen performer, Neil Patrick Harris is best known for his roles as Barney Stinson in the popular CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and as the iconic and beloved Doogie Howser, M.D. He’s been in many movies, hosted the Tonys, the Emmys, and the Oscars, and performed in several Broadway shows.

Rochelle Hassan grew up reading about dragons, quests, and unlikely heroes; now she writes about them, too. She is the author of the middle grade novel The Prince of Nowhere and young adult fantasy novel, The Buried and the Bound. She lives in New York.

Ritu Hemnani is a journalist, teacher, and storyteller, who hopes for every child to see themselves in the pages of a book and know that their stories matter. She is also a voice actor and motivational speaker. Ritu recognizes herself as ethnically Indian, a British national, and calls Hong Kong her home, where she lives with her husband and three children. 

Ritu shares the seeds of her writing journey and the inspiration behind her deep dive into her own family history in her 2019 TEDx Talk, “An Inheritance Worth Sharing.” When not writing or teaching, Ritu delights in family game nights, strumming the strings of her guitar, and paddling through Hong Kong waters on her carrot-colored kayak. 

Carter Higgins is the author of many books for young readers, including Everything You Need for a Treehouse, Some of These Are Snails, and the chapter book series, Audrey L & Audrey W. Her first book as both author and illustrator, Circle Under Berry, was named a Best Book of 2021 by Publishers Weekly, Smithsonian Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal.

Carter is a creative storyteller who designs playful experiences around visual literacy and believes the wit of kids' language is the best poetry of all. She is an Emmy-winning visual effects and motion graphics artist and spent a decade as an elementary school librarian. You can find her on Instagram @carterhiggins or online at carterhiggins.com. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Maria Hinojosa’s nearly thirty-year career as a journalist includes reporting for PBS, CBS, WGBH, WNBC, CNN, NPR, and anchoring and executive producing the Peabody Award–winning show Latino USA, the longest running national Latinx news program in the country, distributed by PRX. She is also a contributor to the long-running, award-winning news program CBS Sunday Morning and an on-air contributor on MSNBC. She has won several awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, four Emmys, the Studs Terkel Community Media Award, two Robert F. Kennedy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club, and the Ruben Salazar Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also been inducted into the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2010 she founded Futuro Media, an independent nonprofit newsroom and production company with the mission of producing multimedia content from a POC perspective. Through the breadth of her work and as the founding co-anchor of the award-winning podcast In the Thick, Hinojosa has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America and abroad. Her adult memoir, ONCE I WAS YOU was an NPR Best Book of 2020. In 2022, she adapted ONCE I WAS YOU for young readers, blending her story with perspectives on history in the vein of Jason Reynolds’s Stamped. She lives with her family in Harlem, New York City.

Philip Hoelzel is the author of Planting Hope: A Portrait of Photographer Sebastião Salgado and Samba! The Heartbeat of a Community: Ailton Nunes’s Musical Journey. Philip was born and raised near Chicago, Illinois. As a child he played soccer, went camping with his parents and siblings and spent a lot of time outdoors. Today, when not writing, Philip can be found managing in an outdoor retail store, hiking local trails, doing school visits as an author and performing with a Brazilian percussion group in Austin, Texas.

Kari Anne Holt is the best-selling author of more than fifteen books for young readers, including the award-winning middle grade novels-in-verse House Arrest, Redwood & Ponytail, and the Kids Under the Stairs series. Her picture book, I Wonder, was featured in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and was nominated for a Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award. Kari Anne's writing for adults has been featured in several Best of McSweeney's collections, Publisher's Weekly, and in KUT's syndicated weekly radio news program, The Texas Standard. Kari Anne is a founding member of Typewriter Rodeo, a traveling custom-poetry collective, and she teaches in Vermont College of Fine Art's Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program. Kari Anne lives in Austin, TX.

Dr. David Hone is a palaeontologist and zoologist at Queen Mary, University of London, where he is also Director of Biological Scienes Programmes. He has published nearly 100 academic papers on dinosaur biology and behaviour, with a particular interest in Tyrannousaurs. David includes among his writing credits the BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs. He has appeared on the Discovery Channel, BBC Radio 5 Live and RTE, acted as consultant for National Geographic documentaries, and written articles for The Guardian, New Scientist, The Times, The Independent, The Telegraph, The New York Times, and many others.

Rachel attended The University of Rhode Island where she obtained her BA in English Language and Literature and later earned her Masters in Education from Northeastern University. Whether it’s reading through a great new book or exploring the world, Rachel has always loved that infinite stories surround us. She has written many stories of her own over the years from speculative fiction to contemporary. Currently, she is focused on cultivating diverse stories featuring queer leads who all hold a special place in their hearts for all things geeky. Outside writing, Rachel enjoys spending time with friends, family, and her cats, or diving into the worlds of Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar the Last Airbender.