Dashka Slater’s novel, The Wishing Box, was named one of the best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times, which called it “an impish novel, hopeful and full of humor.” She is the author of four ac…
There’s a Lego in my bum which fits with the Lego in my chair and when I sit down to write, I hear the satisfying snap of the two pieces fitting together. I love words, dictionaries, thesauruses, shar…
I have always been a storyteller. Even before I could write my name, I could tell a good tale. And I told them all the time. As a preschooler, I told my neighbors all about my three-legged cat named S…
Kate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Wal…
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…
Deaf--bilingual, bicultural. Author of T4: A Novel in Verse (Houghton, 2008) and Show Me a Sign (Scholatic, 2020). Library Youth Services for 11 years and counting. Focus on underserved populations an…
Heidi didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joine…
1. I'm a physicist turned poet turned YA novelist. 2. I am world-famous in Canada, which is kind of like being world-famous in real life. 3. I write books for young readers and peo…
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…
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…
Samuel Teer was born to a deaf maintenance worker and an immigrant that spoke English as a distant second language. Obviously he became a writer. He was raised outside of St. Louis, MO. He currently l…
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…
Amy Noelle Parks is a professor of elementary education at Michigan State University, where she helps future teachers recover from the trauma inflicted on them by years of school mathematics.
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…
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…
Rocky Callen, the daughter of an Ecuadorian immigrant, has long lived a life of service ever since she was a 13-year-old advocating for the undocumented immigrants in her community. She interned at NA…
Shifa Saltagi Safadi was born in Syria and immigrated to the US with her parents when she was a young girl. She is a bilingual Arabic/English speaker, and is very familiar with the challenges of learn…
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 …
