Special Guest A.M. Wild (they/she) is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. Their debut picture book, Not He Or She, I’m Me, features a nonbinary…
A.S. King has been called “One of the best Y.A. writers working today” by the New York Times Book Review. King is the author of…
Aida Salazar is an award-winning author, arts activist, and translator whose writings for adults and children explore issues of identity and social justice. She is…
Special Guest Alexandra Villasante has always loved telling stories–though not always with words. She has a BFA in Painting and an MA in Combined Media…
Alisa Alering is a writer and editor living in southern Indiana. She writes fiction for children and adults and non-fiction exploring science, technology, and the…
Special Guest Alison Green Myers is the program director for the non-profit Highlights Foundation, which supports children’s book writers and illustrators. She’s served as a…
Special Guest Amber McBride is currently a professor at the University of Virginia. She received her MFA in Poetry from Emerson College in 2012. She also…
Special Guest An Na was born in South Korea and grew up in San Diego, California. She is the author of three novels: A Step from…
Virtual Special Guest Angela Dominguez was born in Mexico City, grew up in the great state of Texas, and now resides on the east coast.…
Anna Raff is an award-winning illustrator of several books for children including The Day the Universe Exploded My Head, World Rat Day, A Big Surprise…
In spite of the adage to write what you know, Anne Marie Pace has never been a vampire, a ballerina, a groundhog, or a tow…
Antwan Eady is a children’s author and a dreamer. Originally from Garnett, South Carolina, he’s now sharing those dreams with the world. Eady is a…
Special Guest Aram Kim is a writer and illustrator as well as a designer of picture books for children. She was born in Ohio, raised…
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…
Bill Konigsberg is the award-winning author of six young adult novels. THE PORCUPINE OF TRUTH won the PEN Center USA Literary Award and the Stonewall…
Special Guest Brittany J. Thurman has always listened in on the stories told by her grandmother. These same stories hold space in her writing today.…
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 Carolivia Herron is an African American Jewish author, educator and publisher living in Washington, DC. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from…
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 Catherine Laudone is an associate editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers with seven and a half years of experience editing…
Catriella is currently the Director of PJ Our Way, the next chapter of PJ Library for kids ages 9-12. With degrees from Princeton and Harvard,…
Cheryl Willis Hudson is editorial director of Just Us Books, Inc., an independent publishing company that focuses on Black interest books for children and young…
Chris Tebbetts is the author and co-author of many books for young readers. Titles include the #1 New York Times bestselling MIDDLE SCHOOL series with…
Cordelia Jensen graduated with a MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2012. Cordelia has three verse…
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) and Happy…
Crystal Allen is the author of five middle-grade books, all published by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins. Her accolades include the 2018 SCBWI Sid Fleischman Humor Award…
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…
Special Guest Daria Peoples’ first job was at nine years old in the children’s section of her hometown library in Paso Robles, California. She worked…
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,…
Special Guest David Levithan is a young adult author and Scholastic editorial director. He is also the founding editor of PUSH, a young-adult imprint of…
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 is the author and illustrator of Where Are My Books? and Sam & Eva (Simon & Schuster), and her illustrations have appeared in books…
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…
Don Tate is an award-winning author, and the illustrator of numerous critically acclaimed books for children, including Carter Reads The Newspaper (Peachtree Publishers); No Small Potatoes: Junius…
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Ebony Elizabeth Thomas taught in public schools for several years after graduating from Florida A&M, a historically Black…
Edith Campbell is an Associate Education Librarian in the Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University. She is a founding member of the We Are…
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,…
Special Guest Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan is an author and teacher from Pittsburgh, PA. She loves exploring history and science and has been a science educator on…
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…
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…
Erin Entrada Kelly received the 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe, a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, and the 2017 APALA Award…
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…
Special Guest G. Brian Karas is the illustrator of over 100 picture books for children, and has written and illustrated several of those. Some of…
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…
Georgia Heard received her M.F.A. in poetry writing from Columbia University and 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 Guest Gloria Day is a writer, illustrator, and educator. Her experiences in the classroom are often her source of inspiration when it comes to…
Before Grace Lin was an award-winning and NY Times bestselling author/illustrator of picturebooks, early readers and middle grade novels, she was the only Asian girl…
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…
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.…
IW Gregorio is a practicing urologist by day, masked avenging YA writer by night. She is author of the Schneider Award-winning THIS IS MY BRAIN…
Jalissa Corrie is a Marketing and Publicity Manager at Lee & Low Books, the largest multicultural children’s book publisher in the United States, and a…
James E. Ransome is the award-winning illustrator of over 75 picture books. He has been illustrating books, book jackets, greeting cards and magazines for over…
Virtual Special Guest Janet Wong is a graduate of Yale Law School and a former lawyer who switched careers to become a children’s author. Her…
Special Guest Jasmine Warga is a writer from Cincinnati, Ohio who currently resides in the Chicago area. She is the New York Times-bestselling and John…
Special Guest Jen Keenan is the Art Director of HMH Books for Young Readers. Previously she was Art Director of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and…
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…
Jennifer Baker is a publishing professional of almost 20 years, contributing editor to Electric Literature, creator/host of the Minorities in Publishing podcast, and faculty member…
Jennifer Gennari is the author of Muffled (Simon & Schuster, 2020), a Junior Library Guild selection, and My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,…
Jennifer, a graduate of Harvard Graduate School of Education, is the author of over a dozen award-winning children’s books including Small as an Elephant (IRA…
Jennifer Swanson is the award-winning author of over 40+ nonfiction books for children, mostly about science and technology. Jennifer’s love of STEM began when she…
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…
Joy McCullough’s debut young adult novel Blood Water Paint earned honors including the National Book Award longlist and winner of the Washington State Book Award.…
Kashmira Sheth writes picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, and young adult fiction. Her books have received many awards and honors, including the Asian/Pacific…
Special Guest Kat Brzozowski is a senior editor at Swoon Reads/Feiwel & Friends. She has edited a wide range of young adult fiction, including Anna-Marie…
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…
Kathryn Otoshi is an acclaimed author/illustrator and speaker best known for her character-building book series, Zero, One, and Two. She goes to schools across the…
Special Guest Kathryn Williams is an Associate Editor at National Geographic Kids Books.
Special Guest Katie Heit is an editor at Scholastic, where she edits nonfiction picture books and chapter books, as well as select fiction picture book…
Katura J. Hudson is a children’s book author, editor, and a communication strategist. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Rutgers University, she got…
Special Guest Kelly Light lives in New York but grew up down the shore in New Jersey surrounded by giant pink dinosaurs, cotton candy colors,…
Kelly Starling Lyons is a founding member of The Brown Bookshelf, teaching artist and award-winning children’s book author. Her mission is to center Black heroes,…
Dr. Kimberly N. Parker currently prepares preservice teachers as the Assistant Director of the Teacher Training Center at the Shady Hill School in Cambridge, MA.…
Special Guest K. X. Song is a Highlights Foundation Diversity fellow and a HG Wells Turnill Prize honoree. Her picture book, My Elastical Fantastical Bubble,…
Special Guest Kyle Lukoff writes books for kids and other people. Right now you can pre-order his debut middle grade novel TOO BRIGHT TO SEE,…
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 Pegram is the founding editor and publisher of the award winning literary magazine, Kweli Journal, and the director of the Kweli Color of Children’s…
Laura Shovan is a children’s author, educator, editor, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. Laura’s debut novel-in-verse, THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY, won multiple awards,…
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…
Laurie Calkhoven is the author of more than 50 books for young readers ranging from award-winning nonfiction early readers to YA adaptations of adult books.…
Special Guest Leah Henderson has always loved getting lost in stories. When she is not scribbling down her characters’ adventures, she is off on her…
Leeza Hernandez illustrates children’s books in between working full time as an art director and freelance surface pattern designer. Her latest books include Did You…
Lesléa Newman is the author of 75 books for readers of all ages including the children’s classic, Heather Has Two Mommies, the middle-grade novel Hachiko…
Leslie’s award-winning books are known for their humor and word play. Woolbur (HarperCollins) was nominated for book awards in 13 states, winning honors in Florida…
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…
Special Guest Maggie Tokuda-Hall has an MFA in creative writing from USF, and a strong cake-decorating game. She is the author of the 2017 Parent’s…
Marilisa Jiménez García is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in Latino/a literature and culture. Particularly interested in the intersections of race, gender, nationalism, and youth culture…
Workshop Reader Meera Trehan read as much as she could as a child, memorized poems, and ate enough cookies to earn the nickname “Monster” after…
Special Guest Meg Eden is a 2020 Pitch Wars mentee, and her work is published or forthcoming in magazines including Prairie Schooner, Poetry Northwest, Crab…
Special Guest Melanie is a children’s book illustrator, fine artist, and college professor. She has called the Hudson Valley home for more than thirty years.…
Special Guest 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 Wyatt is the author of two young adult novels, Funny How Things Change, named to the YALSA BBYA and Kirkus Best Young…
Special Guest Merrill Rainey is an award-winning illustrator, designer, author, and paper engineer. His most recent books include Color, Cut, Create • Dinosaur World, and…
Mike loves drawing and writing almost as much as he loves cupcakes and ice cream (and that’s a LOT!). He is the author and illustrator…
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…
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 books for…
A proud product of the Detroit Public Schools, Dr. Nancy D. Tolson received her Masters and PhD from the University of Iowa, researching the history…
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…
Natasha Díaz is a born and raised New Yorker, award winning author and screenwriter, and currently residing in Brooklyn, NY with her tall husband and…
New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2020 ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, the 2017 Children’s Literature Legacy…
NoNieqa Ramos wrote THE DISTURBED GIRL’S DICTIONARY, a 2019 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection and a 2019 In the Margins Top Ten pick.…
Special Guest Nora Shalaway Carpenter’s YA debut The Edge of Anything was a 2020 Best Book of the Year (Kirkus Reviews and A Mighty Girl),…
Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is the author of 8th Grade Superzero, a Notable Book for a Global Society and Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People.…
Padma Venkatraman is the author of THE BRIDGE HOME which has garnered 8 stars, and has been honored as one of the best books of…
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…
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…
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…
Special Guest Paula Yoo is an author, screenwriter, and musician. Her latest YA non-fiction book, From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent…
Phoebe knows a thing or two about finishing a manuscript. She and her team of editors are responsible for the estate programs of C.S. Lewis, Maurice…
Special Guest Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes books…
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 the author of a diverse range of picture books and poetry collections for children, including Lemonade Sun, One Day, The End, The Knowing…
Special Guest Rebecca Kuss (she/her) is an editor at Inkyard Press, a children’s imprint within HarperCollins. She was raised by a hardworking immigrant mom in…
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…
Regina Brooks is the founder and president of Serendipity Literary Agency LLC, based in Brooklyn, New York. Her agency has represented and established a diverse…
Special Guest Rena Rossner is the author of The Sisters of the Winter Wood and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars Program, where she majored…
Renée Watson is a New York Times bestselling author, educator, and activist. Her young adult novel, Piecing Me Together (Bloomsbury, 2017) received a Coretta Scott…
Special Guest Rob Costello (he/him) writes fiction for and about queer youth. He holds an MFA from the Writing for Children and Young Adults Program…
Rob Sanders is a teacher who writes and a writer who teaches. He is known for his funny and fierce fiction and nonfiction picture books…
Special Guest Rona Shirdan is living her best life as a writer, freelance copy editor, and proofreader. She is the mother of two adult sons…
Special Guest Ruth Chan is an illustrator and author of books including Where’s the Party?, Georgie’s Best Bad Day, The Alpactory: Ready, Pack, Go!, Thank…
Special Guest Ruth Horowitz’s most recent picture book Saving Eli’s Library, was released in October 2020. Her other six books for young children include Are…
Saraciea J. Fennell is the founder of The Bronx is Reading—Bronx Book Festival. She is also a book publicist who has worked with many award-winning…
Sarah Aronson began writing for kids and teens when someone in an exercise class dared her to try. Since then, she has earned an MFA…
Special Guest Sarah Suk (pronounced like soup with a K) lives in Vancouver, Canada where she writes stories and admires mountains. When she’s not writing,…
Special Guest Shannon Gibney is a writer, educator, activist, and the author of See No Color (Carolrhoda Lab, 2015), and Dream Country (Dutton, 2018) young…
Special Guest Sofiya Pasternack When Sofiya was six years old, she wrote and illustrated her first story. She has since given up on illustrating, but…
The author of the YA doc dramedy Symptoms of a Heartbreak, Sona Charaipotra is not a doctor — much to her pediatrician parents’ chagrin. They…
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…
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen is an award-winning children’s book author whose books include Chicks Rule, The United States vs. Jackie Robinson (2019 ALSC Notable Children’s Books List),…
Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s picture books, novels, and nonfiction have received dozens of awards, including the Newbery Honor, the Sibert Award and honor, the Orbis Pictus…
Susan Kusel is the librarian at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia, the children’s book buyer and selector for [words] bookstore in Maplewood, New…
Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh was born and raised in Los Angeles’ Jewish Persian community, affectionately known as “Irangeles.” She earned a B.A. from Boston University, where…
Teresa Robeson (teresarobeson.com) draws upon her Chinese heritage, immigrant sensibilities, as well as her background in science and love of nature when she writes. Her…
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…
Tracey Baptiste is the New York Times bestselling author of Minecraft: The Crash, as well as the creepy Caribbean series The Jumbies which includes The…
Special Guest Trisha de Guzman is an Editor at Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan. She has the privilege of…
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…
Special Guest 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…
Wade Hudson’s career as a writer spans more than three decades. A native of Mansfield, Louisiana, he majored in political science at Southern University. After…
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 Yvonne Wakim Dennis is an award winning author of nonfiction books for children and adults including A Kid’s Guide to Native American History…
Intimate and inspiring workshops for children's authors and illustrators.
