Meg Medina served as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was also a 2018 Kirkus Prize…
Norton Juster was an American academic, architect, and writer. He was best known as an author of children's books, notably for The Phantom Tollbooth and The Dot and the Line.
Sharon M. Draper is a professional educator as well as an accomplished writer. She has been honored as the National Teacher of the Year, is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award,…
Trudy Ludwig is a nationally acclaimed speaker and an award-winning author who specializes in writing children's books that help kids connect and engage with their peers in kind, caring ways. She has …
Matt de la Peña is the New York Times best-selling, Newbery-medal-winning author of six young adult novels and four picture books. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State Univer…
Yuyi Morales is the illustrator of Kathleen Krull’s Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, whose accolades include a Pura Belpré Award and a Christopher Medal, as well as the Pura Belpré Award-wi…
JERRY CRAFT is the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid and Class Act. New Kid is the only book in history to win the John Newbery Medal for the most outstan…
Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author, essayist and interfaith activist. She writes the children’s early reader series “Yasmin” published by Capstone and other books for children, including mid…
Juana Martinez-Neal is the recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for “Alma and How She Got Her Name” (Candlewick Press), the 2018 Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration for "La Princesa and the Pea" (writ…
Hi! I love popcorn, chocolate, and my kitty, as well as writing books! I'm a bi-cultural Latina who is still learning Español, and every day that I play in my word sandbox is a happy one. :-)
Sonia Sotomayor, J.D. (Yale Law School, 1979; B.A., Princeton University, 1976), is the 99th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, nominated by President Barack Obama to fill the seat of the re…
Kevin Maillard is Professor of Law at Syracuse University, a contributor to the New York Times and a co-founder of Black Stream Partners LLC. He has written for The Atlantic and has provided on-air co…
Andrea Wang is the award-winning author of Watercress (Caldecott Medal, Newbery Honor, APALA Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, JLG Gold Standard Selection, seven starred reviews), The Nian Monster …
Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in the film 12 Years a Slave, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as multiple …
Isabel Quintero is a writer, poet, teacher, wife, friend, sister, daughter, granddaughter, aunt niece, and a bunch of other things. She lives in the Inland Empire, where she was born and raised by Mex…
Nic Stone was born and raised in a suburb of Atlanta, GA, and the only thing she loves more than an adventure is a good story about one. After graduating from Spelman College, she worked extensively i…
TAE KELLER is the Newbery award winning and New York Times bestselling author of When You Trap a Tiger and The Science of Breakable Things. She grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she subsisted on kimc…
Vashti Harrison, author and illustrator of the bestselling Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, is an artist, author, and filmmaker with a passion for storytelling. She earned her MFA in film …
Ibtihaj Muhammad is a fencer and the first Muslim American woman in hijab to compete for the United States in the Olympic Games. She is also the first female Muslim American to medal at the Olympic Ga…
Matthew A. Cherry is an American film director, writer, producer, and former American football player. He wrote and directed two independent films, The Last Fall, and 9 Rides, and is currently an exec…
Joanna Ho Bradshaw is the author of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners (HarperCollins, Jan 2021), Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma (HarperCollins, Fall 2021), and One Day (Winter 2023). She is a …
Jessica Love is an actor and the author-illustrator of Julián Is a Mermaid. She has a BA in studio art from the University of California, Santa Cruz, as well as a graduate degree from Juilliard. She h…
