bell hooks (deliberately in lower-case; born Gloria Jean Watkins) was an African-American author, feminist, and social activist. Her writing focused on the interconnectivity of race, class, and gender…
Sandra Cisneros is internationally acclaimed for her poetry and fiction and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lannan Literary Award and the American Book Award, and of fellowshi…
Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, …
Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Before We Were Yours, which remained on the bestseller list for over two years. Her award-winning works have been selected for state and …
George Hosato Takei is an American actor best known for his role in the TV series Star Trek, in which he played the helmsman Hikaru Sulu on the USS Enterprise. His baritone earned Takei recurring appe…
#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.
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…
Meg Medina served as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Her most recent middle-grade novel and first fantasy, Graciela in the Abyss, was a 2026 ALSC Notable Children’s Bo…
Chanel Cleeton is the Cuban American New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many novels, including Reese's Book Club pick Next Year in Havana. Originally from Florida, Chanel studied in Lo…
Maggie Tokuda-Hall (1984 -) is the author of Also an Octopus, The Mermaid the Witch and the Sea, its sequel The Siren, The Spy and The Song, Squad, and Love in the Library.
Steven Rowley is the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book of 2016, The Editor, named by NPR and Esquire Magazine as one of the Best Books of 2019, and The Guncle,…
Jaclyn Westlake writes about funny, flawed women doing their best to find their way in the world. A former recruiter turned career advice columnist, her work has appeared in The Muse, Business Insider…
K.A. Cobell, Staa’tssipisstaakii, is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she spends her time writing books, chasing her kids through the neve…
