A. C. Gaughen is the author of the Scarlet Trilogy (Scarlet, Lady Thief and Lion Heart) and the Elementae series, including Reign the Earth and…
A.M. (Amanda) Jenkins is the author of six YA novels, including the Printz Honor Book Repossessed and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist Damage.…
Adam Gidwitz is the author of the Newbery Honor winning The Inquisitor’s Tale, the best-seller A Tale Dark AND Grimm and its companions, and the…
Alex Villasante has always loved telling stories–though not always with words. She has a BFA in Painting and an MA in Combined Media (that’s art…
Special Guest Alisa Alering is an award-winning writer of speculative short fiction. Her stories have appeared in Flash Fiction Online, the anthologies Missing Links and Secret…
Special Guest Alison Green Myers wanted to join the circus. She wanted to train tigers. She wanted to jump through fire. She wanted to stand…
Alison Morris is a nationally recognized children’s book buyer with an infectious enthusiasm for reading and 20 years’ experience matching books to readers. As the…
Allison Hunter Hill is an Associate Editor at Page Street Kids, where she currently acquires children’s picture books. She was previously an Assistant Editor at…
Teaching Assistant Alysa was 7 years old when she wrote her first story: The Adventures of Kinney and Korney, an instant classic in her family.…
Amy Rose Capetta [she/they] is a bestselling author of YA genre fiction. Amy Rose’s first novels, Entangled and Unmade, comprise a space duet. Echo After Echo, a queer love story…
An Na was born in South Korea and grew up in San Diego, California. She is the author of three novels: A Step from Heaven, Wait for…
Special SKYPE Guest Andi Diehn is a writer and editor with an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College. She is the author of 12…
Special Guest Andrea Cascardi has held senior editorial positions at Random House and Disney Publishing, and was an agent with Transatlantic for ten years before…
Andrea J. Loney’s picture book Bunnybear (Albert Whitman & Company) is about a bear who believes in his heart that he’s really a bunny. Her…
Andrew is executive editor at Dutton Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, focusing on YA and MG, fiction and nonfiction. In…
Angela Cervantes is the author of several beloved contemporary middle-grade novels including Gaby, Lost and Found; Allie, First at Last; Me, Frida and the Secret…
Special Guest Angela Dominguez was born in Mexico City, grew up in the great state of Texas, and now resides on the east coast. She…
Anna Raff is an award-winning illustrator of books for children including World Rat Day, A Big Surprise for Little Card, You Are Not a Cat!…
Anna-Marie McLemore (she/they) was born in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and taught by their family to hear la llorona in the Santa…
Anne Ursu is the author of several books for young readers, including The Lost Girl, The Real Boy, and Breadcrumbs. Her books have been on…
Aram Kim is a children’s book author/illustrator and a picture book designer. She was born in Ohio, raised in South Korea, and now lives in…
Ashley Hope Pérez is the author of three novels: Out of Darkness (2015), The Knife and the Butterfly (2012), and What Can’t Wait (2011). Out of Darkness was described by The New York Times…
Ashley Wolff has been a visual artist since she declared herself one at the age of five. She grew up in Middlebury, Vermont, and holds…
Special Guest Baptiste Paul is a Caribbean-born author of two books for children. His debut picture book, The Field, received starred reviews from Kirkus, The…
Special Guest Beth Terrill is the US picture book editor for NorthSouth Books. Beth works on fiction and non-fiction picture books. She recently edited Frida…
Bethany Hegedus’ books include the award-winningGrandfather Gandhi and the newly released Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story, both co-written with Arun Gandhi, grandson to…
Carmen Oliver is the author of picture books A Voice for the Spirit Bears: How One Boy Inspired Millions to Save a Rare Animal, a…
Special Guest Carol Hinz is Editorial Director of Millbrook Press and Carolrhoda Books, imprints of Lerner Publishing Group. She oversees and edits a range of…
Carole Boston Weatherford is an award-winning author of children’s books, including Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America (NAACP Image Award), Voice…
Special Guest Carolyn Dee Flores is the author and illustrator of The Amazing Watercolor Fish which broke new ground in picture book design and format…
Carolyn P. Yoder is the founding editor and currently the senior editor of Calkins Creek Books, the fifteen-year-old U.S. history imprint of Boyds Mills &…
Special Guest Carrie Pearson feels that being a children’s book author represents the best merger of her education, occupations, and passion. She holds a BA…
Charles Waters grew up in the nearby Philadelphia suburb of Yeadon, PA and attended Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he joined several theater touring companies, including…
Chris Tebbetts is the author and co-author of many books for young readers. Titles include the young adult novels ME, MYSELF, AND HIM and M…
Christine Heppermann is the author of the YA poetry collection Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty and the novel-in-verse Ask Me How I Got…
Special Guest Cindy Kane began her career editing children’s books, rising to the position of Editorial Director at Dial Books for Young Readers. The last…
Clara Gillow Clark is a critically acclaimed author of six novels of historical fiction for middle grade readers. In addition to many of her books…
Special Guest Colleen AF Venable is an author, designer, and maker. Her books include the YA graphic novel Kiss Number 8 (illustrated by Ellen T.…
Special Guest Connie Hsu is an Executive Editor at Macmillan Children’s Publishing. She works on picture books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, and nonfiction.…
Cori McCarthy [they/them] is the acclaimed, bestselling author of five released children’s books and just as many forthcoming titles. Their books have been translated into many…
Special Guest Author/Illustrator Courtney Pippin-Mathur creates humorous and heartfelt books for kids, including Maya was Grumpy (Flashlight, 2013), Dragons Rule, Princesses Drool (Little Simon, 2017)…
Cristina Rhodes is an assistant professor of English at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches courses on academic writing, culturally diverse literatures of the…
Crystal Allen is the author of several middle grade novels: How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy (Balzer and Bray 2011), The Laura Line…
Cynthia Levinson is an author and presenter who writes nonfiction books and articles for and about young people, conducts writing workshops and playshops with children…
Dana Meachen Rau has written more than 350 books for children in a variety of genres—early readers, picture-books, historical fiction, biographies, cookbooks, and nonfiction on…
Published in ten languages, children’s book author and writing teacher Darcy Pattison has been published with Harcourt, Philomel/Penguin, Harpercollins, Arbordale, and Mims House. Her books…
Daria’s first job was at nine years old in the children’s section of her hometown library in Paso Robles, California. She worked a little, but…
Darlene Tenes was the founder and Chief Executive Maniac of Marketing Maniacs, Inc., a Silicon Valley event marketing and management firm. Founded in 1998, the…
David Bowles is a Mexican-American author from south Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas Río Grande Valley. He has written several titles,…
Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of the Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series (JLG selections, the Amelia Bloomer and CCBC Choices lists, and a Cybils Award…
Debbie Gonzales is a career educator, curriculum consultant, former school administrator and adjunct professor, a podcaster (The Debcast), and past SCBWI RA for the Austin…
Special SKYPE Guest Dr. Debbie Reese, PhD (@debreese) is an educator and author of the popular blog, American Indians in Children’s Literature. She is a…
Debbie Ridpath Ohi gave a Getting To Know Your Picture Book workshop at Highlights Foundation in 2018 and had so much fun she had to…
Special Guest Deborah Kovacs is co-founder and core contributor to Walden Pond Press, the joint imprint of HarperCollins and Walden Media specializing in middle-grade fiction.…
Denise Fleming is the author/illustrator of many award-winning picture books. Fleming’s books are created in her signature style of pulp painting—a paper making technique. Often…
Diana Murray is the author of over a dozen rhyming picture books, including City Shapes (Little, Brown), which was a Jr. Library Guild Selection, and…
Don Tate is an award-winning author, and the illustrator of numerous critically acclaimed books for children, including The Cart That Carried Martin(Charlesbridge); Hope’s Gift (Penguin); Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite…
Special Guest DongWon Song is an agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency representing science fiction and fantasy for adults, young adult, and middle grade readers…
Donna Janell Bowman is the author of the picture book biography Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness, which…
Chef Douglas Rodriguez, the globally acclaimed Godfather of Nuevo Latino Cuisine, blazed the trail and has inspired Chefs around the world with his culinary creativity…
Edith Campbell is an assistant Education Librarian in the Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University. Edith currently serves as the Indiana State Ambassador for…
Eileen Robinson has worked with children’s writers all over the world for over twenty years. Former Executive Editor at Scholastic and Editorial Director at Harcourt,…
Elise Broach is the author of more than twenty books for young readers, ranging from board books and picture books to young adult novels. Her…
Special Guest Elise Howard is the founding publisher of Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint of Algonquin Books. The Algonquin Young Readers list publishes between twelve and…
Special Guest Elise McMullen-Ciotti is a freelance editor, writer, and educator who has worked in children’s book publishing since 2012. Her clients have included Scholastic,…
Originally trained as an architect, Elizabeth Rose Stanton segued over to fine art and design while raising her family. Now she builds picture books! Her…
Special Guest Ellice Lee is the Associate Art Director of Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, where she art directs and designs…
Special Guest After earning her master’s degrees in Children’s Literature and English Literature from Simmons College in Boston, Emily joined the editorial team at Roaring…
Emily Jenkins writes YA, middle grade and books for the very young. Her twenty picture books include A Greyhound, A Groundhog, Toys Meet Snow, Lemonade in Winter, and most…
Special Guest Emily X.R. Pan is the New York Times bestselling author of THE ASTONISHING COLOR OF AFTER, which won the APALA Honor Award and…
Emma D. Dryden founded drydenbks LLC (www.drydenbks.com), a premiere children’s editorial & publishing consultancy firm, after 25 years experience as editor and publisher of Margaret…
Emma Otheguy is the author of the bilingual picture book Martí’s Song for Freedom (Lee & Low, 2017) about Cuban poet and national hero José…
Erica S. Perl is the author of popular and critically acclaimed books for young readers. Her most recent middle grade novel, ALL THREE STOOGES, won…
Erin Dionne’s latest book for tweens is Secrets of a Fangirl (2019). She’s the author of 6 other books for young readers, including the 2014…
Floyd Cooper is the Coretta Scott King award-winning illustrator of more than 60 books for children. Floyd started his career in illustration at Hallmark, after…
Fran Wilde’s novels and short stories have been finalists for four Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, and two Hugo Awards, and include her Nebula-…
Gail Carson Levine is well-known for her children’s books such as the Newbury-Honor winning Ella Enchanted and Forgive Me, I Meant To Do It, Gail’s…
Special Guest Gareth Hinds is the creator of critically-acclaimed graphic novels based on literary classics, including Beowulf (which Publisher’s Weekly called a “mixed-media gem”), King…
Georgia Heard received her M.F.A. in poetry writing from Columbia University. She is a founding member of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project in…
Gina Maccoby is a New York literary agent representing authors of literary and commercial fiction and nonfiction for adults and children, including New York Times…
Special SKYPE Guest Gwendolyn Hooks is the author of 17 books for children. She writes both fiction and nonfiction to encourage children to explore their…
Harold is an independent children’s book editor and consultant who works with authors and publishers on manuscripts, books, and strategy. He is also the author…
When she’s not traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, Heather Demetrios lives with her husband and rescue mutt in New York…
Heather L. Montgomery writes for kids who are wild about animals. An award-winning author and educator, Heather uses yuck appeal to engage young minds. She…
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.…
Special Guest Higgins Bond has been a freelance illustrator and fine artist for over forty years. She earned a BFA Degree in Advertising Design from…
Irene Latham is the author of many books, including two novels for children, Leaving Gee’s Bend and Don’t Feed the Boy. Winner of the 2016…
James E. Ransome is the award-winning illustrator of over 60 picture books. He has been illustrating books, book jackets, greeting cards and magazines for over…
Jan Cheripko is the author of seven books for children and young adults. He has been a featured author at NCTE, ILA, and numerous regional,…
Jan Fields had her first brush with educational publishing when an editor happened upon her webpage and asked if she’d write a book for their…
Special SKYPE Guest Jane Yolen, often called “the Hans Christian Andersen of America,” celebrated the publication of her 365th book in 2018. Her works, which…
Janvieve Williams Comrie, Founder and Principal of Aligned Strategy , is a human rights strategist, trainer and organizer with a deep commitment to assist in…
Special Guest Jen Keenan is the Art Director of Roaring Brook Press and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, imprints of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. Previously she…
Jennie Dunham has been a literary agent in New York, New York for 8 years before she founded Dunham Literary, Inc. in 2000. She represents…
Special Guest Jennifer Herrera joined the David Black Agency in 2015 after working at Fletcher & Company and Europa Editions, where she was an early…
Jennifer is the author of many award-winning children’s books including Small as an Elephant (IRA Young Adult’s Choice, Parents’ Choice Gold Award), Paper Things (ILA…
Jennifer Swanson is a self-professed science geek and the author of over twenty-five nonfiction and fiction books. She is the author of Brain Games (NGKids, 2015) and…
Special Guest Jerry Pinkney is an award-winning author/illustrator. He won the 2010 Caldecott Medal for The Lion & the Mouse. He has also received five…
Jess Rinker is the author of Gloria Takes a Stand, a picture book biography of Gloria Steinem, and the forthcoming, Send a Girl: The Brenda…
Jessixa Bagley is a children’s book author/illustrator as well as a practicing fine artist, and comics creator. She has been making books, drawing pictures, and…
Special Guest Jill Davis is an executive editor at HarperCollins. She has been working in children’s editorial since 1992. She began her career at Random…
Teaching Assistant Jim Hill holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts where he learned to…
Special Guest Joanna Volpe is a literary agent and the president of New Leaf Literary & Media, where she represents a broad reach of fiction…
Jocelyn Davies is a children’s book editor and young adult author. Over the course of her career, she has acquired, edited, and developed books for…
Preferring grace over style, message over technique, and story over extravagance, Joe seeks to create work with integrity and authenticity at its core. Born and…
Special Guest John Kascht was lauded by the the National Portrait Gallery as “a keen and insightful observer of human nature.” Two dozen of his…
Special Guest John Parra is an award winning illustrator of books for young readers, including Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown, named a…
Special Guest Joni Sussman is the Publisher at Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With over 300 titles in…
Joseph Bruchac is a writer and traditional storyteller who lives in the Adirondack Mountains Region of northern New York in the house he was raised…
Joy McCullough’s debut young adult novel Blood Water Paint earned honors such as the National Book Award longlist, winner of the Washington State Book Award…
Teaching Assistant Julia Garstecki has published more than fifty books for the education market. Series include American Fighting Forces, The Disgusting Crafter, and Military Tech.…
Julie C. Dao is a proud Vietnamese-American who was born in upstate New York. She studied medicine in college, but came to realize blood and…
K.L. Going is the award winning author of numerous books for children and teens. Her first novel, Fat Kid Rules the World, was named a Michael Printz…
Special Guest Kandace Coston is the editorial assistant at Lee & Low Books, an independent children’s book publisher focusing on diversity. She grew up in…
Karen Boss is an editor at Charlesbridge. She holds an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons College and is now a mentor in their MFA…
Special Guest Karl Jones is an Associate Editor at Penguin Young Readers Group. He works on a variety of licensed and original middle grade and…
Kat Brzozowski is a senior editor at Swoon Reads/Feiwel & Friends. She has edited a wide range of young adult fiction, including Anna-Marie McLemore’s When…
Special Guest Kat Yeh is the award-winning author of middle grade novels, The Way to Bea (Sept, 2017) and The Truth About Twinkie Pie (an…
Special Guest Katherine Locke lives and writes in Philadelphia where they’re ruled by their feline overlords and their addiction to chai lattes. They secretly believe…
Kathi Appelt’s books have won numerous national and state awards, including the Irma and Simon Black Award, Children’s Choice Award, Teacher’s Choice Award, the Oppenheimer…
Special Guest Kathleen Merz is the Acquisitions & Managing Editor at Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. She has worked on a number of award-winning titles,…
Special Guest Kathy spent fifteen years as a lawyer before turning to her first love: writing. She was lucky to work with Patricia Gauch and…
Kathryn Otoshi is a multi-award winning author, illustrator and national/international speaker living in Los Angeles. She travels to schools across the country to encourage children…
Special Guest Katie Carella, Executive Editor, oversees Scholastic’s Acorn early reader line and Branches early chapter book line. Her career began on the adult side…
Special Guest Kekla Magoon is the award-winning author of eight young adult novels, including The Rock and the River, How It Went Down, X: A Novel, and the…
Kelly Bennett is the author of many award-winning books for children—mostly picture books. Her stories, such as Not Norman, A Goldfish Story, a Jumpstart Read…
Kelly Light lives in New York but grew up down the shore in New Jersey surrounded by giant pink dinosaurs, cotton candy colors, and Skee-Ball…
Kelly Starling Lyons is a children’s book author whose mission is to transform moments, memories and history into stories of discovery. Her books include chapter…
Kendra Levin is the Editorial Director of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Before joining the S&S team in 2019, she spent fourteen years…
Special Guest Kevin Lewis is an agent at the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. A twenty year veteran of children’s publishing; Kevin Lewis started his career…
Teaching Assistant Kim Rogers is a writer and speaker. Her work has been published in Highlights for Children, Guideposts Sweet 16, the Chicken Soup for…
Kristy Dempsey grew up in South Carolina and now works as a teacher-librarian in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, a bustling city of 5 million people. She…
Kwame is a husband, father, writer, and pharmaceutical metrologist in that order. His debut middle-grade novel, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (October…
Special Guest Lamar Giles writes novels and short stories for teens and adults. He is the author of the 2015 Edgar® Award Nominee Fake ID, the 2016 Edgar® Award NomineeEndangered, a third,…
Laura Beltchenko is a thirty-four year veteran educator. Her career in public education includes classroom teacher, reading specialist, as well as district level administration. She…
Laura M. Jiménez is the Department Chair for Language & Literacy Education at Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. She teaches children’s…
Laura Ruby is the author of the YA novel Bone Gap, a National Book Award Finalist and winner of the Michael L. Printz Award, and the…
After a career in undergraduate counseling, Laura Sibson pursued an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing in a local coffee…
Special Guest Lauren Castillo studied illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art and received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New…
Special Guest Laurie Calkhoven is the author of more than 50 books for young readers ranging from award-winning nonfiction early readers to YA adaptations of…
Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her…
Leah Henderson has always loved getting lost in stories. When she is not scribbling down her characters’ adventures, she is off on her own, exploring…
Please Note: Lee will be visiting the workshop via SKYPE. Lee is a distinguished poet, writer, and anthologist whose poetry collections include the highly acclaimed…
Lesa Cline-Ransome’s first book was the biography Satchel Paige, an ALA Notable Book and a Bank Street College “Best Children’s Book of the Year. She…
Lesléa Newman is the author of 70 books for readers of all ages including the children’s classic, Heather Has Two Mommies, the middle-grade novel Hachiko…
Leslie Helakoski is the author and sometimes illustrator of 11 picture books. Her newest additions are Ready or Not, Woolbur Goes to School (HarperCollins) 2018 and…
Lila Quintero Weaver is the author of a children’s novel, My Year in the Middle (Candlewick Press, 2018). Previously, she wrote and illustrated a graphic…
Special Guest Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning writer and author of the young adult novels Dealing in Dreams, forthcoming from Simon & Schuster on March…
Linda Epstein is a senior agent at Emerald City Literary Agency, in their east coast office. She represents picture books, middle grade and young adult…
Linda Sue Park has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She was nine years old when she saw her words published…
Special Guest Lindsay Barrett George was born in the West Indies and grew up in New Jersey. She received a BFA degree from Manhattanville College…
Special Guest Lindsey Lane is an award-winning author, playwright and journalist. She is the author of young adult novel Evidence of Things Not Seen, (Farrar,…
Special Guest Lisa Cinelli is an award-winning painter, childrenʼs book author/illustrator and a Teaching Artist. She is happiest exploring story ideas, experimenting with materials and…
Special SKYPE Guest Lisa Rao has worked in children’s publishing for over 20 years. She is currently a senior editor at Simon Spotlight, where she…
Special Guest Liz Kossnar enthusiastically joined the Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers editorial team in November 2013. She primarily acquires middle grade but…
Lori Nichols is the author and illustrator of the award-winning picture book, Maple. She grew up in Western Pennsylvania marveling at everything from acorns to…
Special Guest Lucy Ruth Cummins is an author, an illustrator, and an art director of children’s books. Her debut picture book, A Hungry Lion, or…
Luz Marina Rodriguez, Founding Principal of Visionary Allies, is a sought-after coach and mentor to many social change agents for her expertise in fundraising, capacity-building…
Special Guest Lynne Polvino has been with Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company, for twenty years. Some of the notable titles on…
Special Guest Mallory Grigg is an award-winning Art Director and designer. She has worked for Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Alloy Entertainment, Cider Mill…
Marcie Colleen is an award-winning picture book and chapter book author. Some of her titles include, Love, Triangle (HarperCollins), a Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s…
Special Guest Marie Lamba (marielamba.com) is the author of the picture books Green Green (Farrar Straus Giroux, ’17) and A Day So Gray (Clarion, Fall…
Special Guest Marie O’Neill is Creative Director for editorial at Highlights for Children, where she leads the overall design sensibility for all children’s products published…
Special SKYPE Guest Marilisa Jiménez García is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in Latino/a literature and culture. Particularly interested in the intersections of race, gender, nationalism,…
Special Guest Matthew Winner is an elementary school librarian living in Howard County, Maryland. He is the host of The Children’s Book Podcast (formerly All The…
medina (they/them) is a nonbinary queer transracial Honduran adoptee with Cerebral Palsy who lives in NYC. Their work has appeared in: Into, The Establishment, Them,…
Teaching Assistant Meera Trehan read as much as she could as a child, memorized poems, and ate enough cookies to earn the nickname “Monster” after…
Meg Medina is a Newbery and Pura Belpré award-winning author of picture books, middle grade, and YA fiction. She is the author of Merci Suárez Changes…
Special Guest Megan Atwood is the author of more than fifty books for children and young adults. She founded the young adult imprint, Flux Books,…
Special Guest Mela Bolinao has a B.A. degree in Art History with a concentration in Visual Arts from Barnard College. After graduation in 1995, she…
Melanie Crowder is the acclaimed author of several books for young readers, including Audacity, Three Pennies, An Uninterrupted View of the Sky, A Nearer Moon and Parched,…
Melanie is a children’s book illustrator, fine artist, and college professor. She has called the Hudson Valley home for more than thirty years. She studied…
Teaching Assistant Melanie J. Fishbane holds an M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and an M.A.…
Special Guest Melissa Frain is a Senior Editor at Tor Books, a division of Macmillan, where she acquires and edits for the Tor Teen line.…
Melissa Iwai is the author and illustrator of many books for young children. Some of her books include Soup Day and Pizza Day, which she…
Melissa writes fiction for adults, teens, and children. Her books have been translated into 28 languages to date and been bestsellers in the US (NY Times, LA Times,…
Special Guest Melissa Wyatt is the author of two young adult novels, Funny How Things Change, named to the YALSA BBYA and Kirkus Best Young…
Teaching Assistant Merrill Rainey is the creator and owner of LittleRainey Illustration & Design, which is a children’s illustration and design studio based out of…
M. García was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She moved to New York where she studied creative writing at The New School,…
Mike Curato is the author and illustrator of everyone’s favorite polka-dotted elephant, Little Elliot. His debut title,Little Elliot, Big City (Henry Holt Books for Young…
Miranda Paul is an award-winning children’s author of more than a dozen picture books including One Plastic Bag, Water is Water, I Am Farmer and Are We…
Special Guest Mitali Perkins has written many novels for young readers, including Rickshaw Girl (chosen by the New York Public Library as one of the top 100…
Nancy Werlin is the author of nine young-adult novels that range from contemporary realism to mystery to fantasy. Her books include the New York Times…
Special Guest Neal Porter has been in and around children’s book publishing for over 40 years, holding marketing, administrative and editorial positions at houses such…
Nicole Valentine (www.nicolevalentinebooks.com) is an author of middle grade fiction. She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College…
Nidhi Chanani is a freelance illustrator, cartoonist and writer. She is the owner of Everyday Love Art. Her debut graphic novel, Pashmina, was released by…
Special Guest Nikki Garcia is an editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers where she works on everything from picture books through YA. During…
Special SKYPE Guest Nikki Grimes, New York Times bestselling author, is the recipient of the 2017 Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary…
NoNieqa Ramos is an educator, literary activist, and writer of “intense” literature. She wrote the THE DISTURBED GIRL’S DICTIONARY, a 2018 New York Public Library…
Nova Ren Suma (she/her) is a New York Times bestselling author of strange, magical young adult novels and a two-time Edgar Award finalist. Her latest…
Special Guest Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is the author of 8th Grade Superzero, a Notable Book for a Global Society and Notable Social Studies Trade Book for…
Pablo Cartaya is an award-winning author whose books have been reviewed by The New York Times, featured in The Washington Post, received starred reviews from…
Padma Venkatraman has lived in five countries, worked as chief scientist on oceanographic vessels, and even spent time scuba diving before becoming an American author. Her…
Special Guest Pat Cummings is the author and/or illustrator of over 40 books for young readers. Along with teaching children’s book classes at Pratt and…
Patrice Caldwell is a graduate of Wellesley College and the founder and fundraising chair of People of Color in Publishing, a grassroots organization dedicated to…
Former vice president and editor at large of Philomel Books, Patti is now a fulltime writer and lecturer. She has authored more than 40 picture…
Special Guest Patti Ann Harris is the Creative Director at Scholastic, including Cartwheel Books, Orchard Books, Readers, Branches and Little Shepherd. Previously she was the…
Special Guest Patty Courtright is an assistant editor and the reader-mail specialist at Highlights magazine, where she has worked in a variety of roles for…
Paula Chase-Hyman doesn’t mind being known as a Jane of all trades, Queen of none. But a single theme has followed throughout her career in…
Paula Morrow has been a children’s literature specialist for over 40 years and still enjoys each new day in the world of children’s books and…
Special Guest Paula Yoo is a children’s book author and TV writer/producer. Her latest YA non-fiction book about Vincent Chin, whose brutal beating death by…
Phoebe North, a graduate of the University of Florida’s MFA program in poetry, is the critically acclaimed author of Starglass and Starbreak. A new novel…
SKYPE Guest Rachel Ekstrom has channeled her passion for reading into a fifteen-year publishing career. She is an agent at Folio Junior Literary, and before…
Special Guest Rachel Werner is the Content Marketing Specialist for Taliesin Preservation—a National Historic Landmark and the home, studio, school, and 800-acre estate of Frank…
Teaching Assistant Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area with her wonderful family and impossibly cute…
Rebecca M. Davis is Senior Editor of Boyds Mills Press and Wordsong, imprints of Boyds Mills & Kane. Wordsong is the only imprint in the…
Rebecca is an author and poet whose poetry appears in many award-winning collections, in dozens of anthologies and textbooks, and in major children’s magazines. Rebecca…
Special Guest Rebecca Kuss first realized the power of words as a kid, when her friends would pay her to write Hanson fan fiction for…
Rebecca Podos is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of young adult novels, including THE MYSTERY OF HOLLOW PLACES, LIKE WATER, and THE WISE AND THE…
Rena is the author of The Sisters of the Winter Wood and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars Program, where she majored in poetry and…
Special Guest Renée Watson is a New York Times Bestselling author, educator, and activist. Her young adult novel, Piecing Me Together (Bloomsbury, 2017) received a…
Rob Costello (he/him) writes fiction for and about queer youth. He holds an MFA from the Writing for Children and Young Adults Program at the…
Rob Sanders is a writer who teaches, and a teacher who writes. A native of Springfield, Missouri, he has lived in Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee.…
Special Guest Rubin Pfeffer is a veteran of the children’s and adult trade industry. He has served as President and Publisher of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,…
Special Guest Ruth Horowitz’s six books for young children include picture books Are We Still Friends?, which PJ Library reissued as a Rosh Hashanah selection,…
Salina Yoon is the award-winning and bestselling author and illustrator of over 160 books for children, with over 3.5 million books sold worldwide. She was…
Samantha Berger has written award-winning picture books including What If…, illustrated by Mike Curato; Snail Mail, llustrated by Julia Patton; Rock What Ya Got, illustrated…
Special SKYPE Guest Samantha Gentry is an Editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Her primary focus is commercial nonfiction where she is particularly…
Teaching Assistant Sandra K. Athans is a National Board Certified practicing literacy specialist with over fifteen years of experience teaching at the elementary level. She…
Sarah Aronson has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and has published three novels: Head Case,…
Special Guest Sayantani DasGupta is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed, Bengali folktale and string theory-inspired Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond…
Special Guest Sean Qualls is an award -winning artist, author & illustrator of children’s books who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. His titles include…
Shadra Strickland is an award-winning illustrator. She won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009…
Shelley Tanaka is the author of more than twenty nonfiction books for children and young adults, including seven titles in the award-winning I Was There…
Special Guest Rabbi Shirley Idelson serves as Senior Advisor at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation where she works closely with the whole content team at PJ…
Special SKYPE Guest Siobhan Ciminera has spent her career in children’s editorial and is currently the Editorial Director for Simon Spotlight, where she oversees Simon…
Siobhan Vivian is the New York Times best-selling author of eleven young adult novels, including Stay Sweet, The Last Boy and Girl in the World,…
The author of the YA doc dramedy Symptoms of a Heartbreak, Sona Charaipotra is not a doctor — much to her pediatrician parents’ chagrin. They were…
Stacey Barney is an Executive Editor at G.P. Putnam’s Sons BFYR. She has edited the #1 New York Times bestselling The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh as well as…
Steve Light grew up in an enchanted place known as New Jersey. He went on to study Illustration at Pratt Institute, he also had the…
Steve Sheinkin is the award-winning author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories for young readers. The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil…
Special Guest Sunita Apte is the half-Indian, half-Hungarian child of immigrants. She has lived and traveled in Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa. Born and…
Special Guest Susan Campbell Bartoletti is an award-winning author of picture books, novels, and nonfiction for children, including the Newbery Honor book Hitler Youth: Growing…
Special Guest Susan Kusel is the librarian at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia, the children’s book buyer and selector for [words] bookstore in…
Special SKYPE Guest Tamar Mays joined HarperCollins in 2005 to run Harper’s renowned I Can Read program. Previously she was a bookseller, a children’s book…
Special Guest Street magic performer. Hog-calling champion. Award-winning ice sculptor. These are all things Tara Lazar has never been. Instead, she writes quirky, humorous picture…
Special Guest Tiff Liao is an editor at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. She’s had the pleasure of editing authors such as Tomi Adeyemi,…
Tiffany D. Jackson is the author of the critically acclaimed, NAACP Image Award-nominated Allegedly; Monday’s Not Coming; and Let Me Hear a Rhyme (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen…
Special Guest Tina Dubois is a literary agent at ICM Partners, specializing in middle grade and young adult fiction. Noteworthy titles include the New York…
Tod Olson is author of the forthcoming Into the Clouds: The Race to Climb the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain (April 2020), the narrative nonfiction series…
Special Guest Tracey West has written more than 300 books for children, including the bestselling Dragon Masters series for Scholastic Branches. Some readers also know…
Traci Chee is the New York Times bestselling author of The Reader Trilogy and We Are Not Free (HMH, June 2020). An all-around word geek,…
Traci Sorell writes fiction and nonfiction books as well as poems for children. Her debut nonfiction picture book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, features the universal…
Special Guest Trisha de Guzman is an Associate Editor at Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan. She is actively building…
Vanessa Brantley-Newton is a self-taught illustrator, doll maker, and crafter who studied fashion illustration at FIT and children’s book illustration at the School of Visual…
Veera Hiranandani is the author of The Night Diary (Kokila), which has received many awards including the 2019 Newbery Honor Award, the 2019 Walter Dean Myers Honor Award,…
Wiley has worked in publishing for almost 30 years. He has written several early readers, such as Max Has a Fish and A New Friend,…
Special Guest Yesenia Flores Díaz credits her parents and elementary school librarian for cultivating a love of reading. She won the 2016 Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize…
Special Guest Yuyi Morales was born in Xalapa, Mexico, the city of flowers and springs. After migrating to the US in 1994, she struggled with…
Special Guest Yvonne Wakim Dennis is an award winning author of nonfiction books for children and adults including A Kid’s Guide to Native American History…
Juana Martinez-Neal is the recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for Alma and How She Got Her Name (Candlewick 2018), her author-illustrator debut, and the 2018 Pura Belpré Medal…
Intimate and inspiring workshops for children's authors and illustrators.
