Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. As the Library of Congress’ fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, he advocates for the importance of read…
Paula Yoo is an acclaimed book author, TV writer/producer, and musician. Her children’s and Young Adult nonfiction books and novels have won many awards, including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, th…
Jason Reynolds is an American author of novels and poetry for young adult and middle-grade audience. After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, Jason Reynolds moved t…
A.S. King is the author of the highly-acclaimed I CRAWL THROUGH IT, Walden Award winner GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE, REALITY BOY, 2013 LA Times Book Prize winner ASK THE PASSENGERS, 2012 ALA…
Renée Watson is the author of the children’s picture book, A Place Where Hurricanes Happen (Random House, June 2010), which was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Her middle grade novel…
ELANA K. ARNOLD writes books for and about children and teens. She holds a master’s degree in Creative Writing/Fiction from the University of California, Davis where she has taught Creative Writing an…
Candy J. Cooper is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting. She has been a staff writer for four newspapers, including the The Detroit Free Press and …
Laekan Zea Kemp is a writer living in Austin, Texas. Her debut novel, Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet was a 2022 Pura Belpré Honor Recipient. She has three objectives when it comes to storytelling:…
Olivia Cole is an author and blogger from Louisville, Kentucky. She spent eight years in Chicago and two in South Florida before finding her way back home. She is the author of PANTHER IN THE HIVE and…
SAMIRA AHMED was born in Bombay, India, and grew up in Batavia, Illinois, in a house that smelled like fried onions, spices, and potpourri. She currently resides in the Midwest. She’s lived in Vermont…
Jeff Zentner is the author of The Serpent King, which Kirkus Reviews named one of the best books of the 21st Century, as well as In the Wild Light, Goodbye Days, Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee, Col…
Randy Ribay is an award-winning author of young adult fiction. His most recent novel, Patron Saints of Nothing, earned five starred reviews, was selected as a Freeman Book Award winner, and was a fina…
Candice Iloh is a first generation Nigerian-American writer, teaching artist, and youth educator. She is a graduate of Howard University and holds an MFA in writing from Lesley University. Her work ha…
Mariama J. Lockington is an adoptee, author, and educator. She has been telling stories and making her own books since the second grade, when she wore shortalls and flower leggings every day to school…
John Schu is the creator of the popular blog Mr. Schu Reads (mrschureads.blogspot.com), was the Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs, a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, an…
Hannah V. Sawyerr was recognized as the Youth Poet Laureate of Baltimore in 2016. Her debut novel in verse All the Fighting Parts was a finalist for the William C. Morris Debut Award, a Walter Dean My…
Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She gained attention from …
Jen Ferguson (she/her/hers) Métis (on her father's side) and Canadian settler (on her mother's side) is an activist, a feminist, an auntie, and an accomplice armed with a PhD. She believes writing, te…
Ream Shukairy is a Syrian American Muslim born and raised full-time in Orange County, California and part-time over summers in Syria. Whether in California or Syria, she feels at home where her family…
Claire Forrest is a novelist and essayist who holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. Where You See Yourself is based on her lived experience as a wheelchair use…
Josh Galarza writes fiction and creative nonfiction and is a multidisciplinary visual artist specializing in printmaking, book arts, and sculpture. His debut novel, The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the …
Carolina Ixta is a writer from Oakland, California. A daughter of Mexican immigrants, she received her B.A. in Creative Writing and Spanish Language and Literature at the University of California, San…
