Kara Mitchell is a debut children’s author/illustrator based in Oklahoma.

Bronx native, Afro-Latina, and illustrator on Monique Fields’ debut picture book Honeysmoke: A Story About Finding Your Color, Yesenia is a freelance toy designer and illustrator. Her work has been featured on various media outlets such as SyFy and NBC News. Her author-illustrator debut, Stella’s Stellar Hair, is set to release in January 2021.

Serena Molloy is a secondary school teacher living in Galway, West Ireland. She takes inspiration for her writing from her colourful classroom experience and her own children, who educate her daily. Serena particularly enjoys writing for young adults.

A former writer and producer at NBC News and The Today Show, Montalbano is the author of the middle-grade novel Breakaway. She is a longtime soccer player and coach, and her writing has been featured on the New York Times’s Motherlode blog and elsewhere

Heather L. Montgomery writes for kids who are wild about animals. The weirder, the wackier, the better. An award-winning science educator, Heather uses yuck appeal to engage young minds. During presentations, petrified animal parts and tree guts inspire reluctant readers and motivate reticent writers.  

Heather has a BS in biology and an MS in environmental education, she lives on the border of Alabama and Tennessee, and she has published seventeen nonfiction books.  

Roadkill changed her life.

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Zewlan Moor is an author, doctor, and bibliotherapist who writes playful books for today’s savvy kids. Now living on the land of the Yugambeh people at the Gold Coast, Australia, with her husband and two children, Zewlan loves to read, practice medicine and combine the two through her private practice, Byron Bibliotherapy. Her books are sometimes multi-layered, with a quirky sense of humor and light touch that belies their serious intent. Other times they're just fun. In her reading and writing, Zewlan is preoccupied with themes of identity, language, power and social justice. Which sounds very dry but isn't. Especially when wrapped in a picture book/cozy mystery/dark academia/romcom package.

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Oscar-winning actress, Moore won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild award for her portrayal of Sarah Palin in the HBO film Game Change. Her Freckleface Strawberry books are the basis for an Off Broadway show that opened in 2010. Her book Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully was a New York Times Bestseller.

Maria Ingrande Mora is the Content Director at Big Sea, a web design and digital marketing firm based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was previously the Parenting Editor at the digital media company SheKnows, where she contributed over 300 articles on topics covering feminism and health. As a queer woman and the parent of a neurodiverse child, she’s passionate about representation and inclusivity in kidlit. Maria is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

My first words came in Spanish. My first books were fairy tales. Born in Puerto Rico, I learned to love the mountains, the birds, coffee and pasteles and the greatest treasure: its people. My writing is full of nature and journeys. I’ve yet to write about pasteles. 

Still in elementary school, I moved to New York where I learned English, the difficult task of being an immigrant, the greatness of family and friends. I studied in the University of Puerto Rico; first to become a teacher; years later to obtain a Master’s in Guidance and Counseling. I’m a writer and poet. I love the mountains and the sea, the country and the city, Spanish and English, New York and Puerto Rico, the picture book and the novel. I’m working to share beautiful worlds in w

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Heidi Moreno is a Mexican American author, illustrator, designer, and community cat advocate living in Los Angeles, California. Her work has been featured in galleries across the United States, and she frequently participates in group shows at Gallery Nucleus in Portland, Oregon. She has collaborated with Facebook, Papyrus, the OC Fair, and several cat rescues such as Kitten Rescue LA.

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Heidi is constantly chasing the feeling that Halloween brought her as a child, when she ran through streets with only the warm, dim streetlamps guiding her way to the next orange-lit home with a jack-o-lantern calling. Her textures and use of watercolors, gouache, and colored pencils are inspired by her favorite childhood tools. She loves to create eccentric characters, and to imagine what their quirks and days might be like. Her debut illustrated book, Working from Home with a Cat (Chronicle Books), started out as a zine she printed at home. Luna Oscura (Lil’ Libros) is her first bilingual children’s book. On most days you can find her hanging out with her husband Danny and their neighborhood's community cats.

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Andrea Mosqueda is a Chicana writer, born and raised in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley.

Luma Mufleh, immigrant, Muslim, gay, entrepreneur, mother, introvert, leader, and speaker, is best known as "Coach" by the students and families for whom she founded the first network of middle and high schools for refugee kids in the United States. She writes from her own experiences of both struggle and privilege, with a combination of humor, humility, and inspiration.

Bethanie received her MFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York and worked as an art director for a variety of publishers, design firms, and marketing agencies before dedicating herself to children’s writing and illustration. Her work has received many accolades, including the Parents Choice Award, Amazon Best Books of the Year, and Bank Street College Best Books of the Year. Bethanie lives on the West Coast with her husband, two daughters, two dogs, and one dragon (bearded). When she’s not creating stories, she’s most likely hiking, biking, or snuggling up with her dogs and a book.

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PETER MUTABAZI, aka Foster Dad Flipper, is an entrepreneur, an international advocate for children, andthe founder of Now I Am Known, a foundation that supplies resources that encourage and affirm children—as well as a popular social media personality. A single father of three and foster dad to many, Mutabazi is aformer street kid from Uganda who has worked for World Vision, Compassion International, and the RedCross, and has appeared on media outlets such as the BBC and The Today Show

Cole Nagamatsu's fiction has appeared online and in print at Tin House, cream city review, West Branch, Bartleby Snopes, PodCastle, Gingerbread House Literary Magazine, Timber Journal, and other publications. She is the editor-in-chief of Psychopomp Magazine and is a visiting assistant professor of Creative Writing at St. Olaf College in Minnesota.

Catherine Newman is a beloved and widely read parenting blogger and author of Waiting for Birdy (Penguin) and Field Guide to Catastrophic Happiness (Little, Brown). Her work has been published in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Real Simple, O Magazine, and Whole Living.

Marc Tyler Nobleman is an author and speaker who inspires people of allages to persist and to advocate for those less fortunate. His award-winningtitles include: Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator ofBatman (changed history/inspired film); Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: AJapanese Pilot's World War II Story (Orbis Pictus Honor Book/multiple "bestof the year" lists); The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra; Boys of Steel: TheCreators of Superman (ALA Notable/front page of USA Today); Fairy Spell:How Two Girls Convinced the World That Fairies Are Real.

Dr. Eucabeth Odhiambo is a professor of Teacher Education at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. She has served the education community in a variety of positions during the past 25 years. As a classroom teacher, she has taught all grades between kindergarten and middle school. She currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Early Childhood and Curriculum and Instruction programs. She teaches child development and social studies methods and has made numerous professional presentations at local, state, national, and international conferences. In addition to her writing for children, she has authored publications on teaching, pre-service training, and diversity.

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Ama Ofosua Lieb writes YA Fantasy for all who love the genre. She was born in Ghana, West Africa. Growing up, she and her family lived in many places, including Canada, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Nigeria and South Africa. She now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their two young children. When not writing, Ama bakes cakes, reads, drinks tea, plays guitar and debates the best ways to escape from monsters with her kids. She holds an MA in Sociology and a BA in Economics, both from Stanford University.

David Opie grew up in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where he spent a lot of time roaming around the woods. He went on to earn his BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His illustrations have appeared in many magazines and newspapers and he has worked for educational publishers including Heinemann/Houghton Mifflin, Macmillan, Learning A-Z, McGraw-Hill, National Geographic School Publishing, Scholastic, and Soundprints/Smithsonian.

David has taught at the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago and the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, and was a full-time instructor in the illustration department of the American Academy of Art in downtown Chicago. He currently teaches at the University of New Haven. David and his wife live with their dog in Connecticut.

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Emma Otheguy is the author of the picture books Martí’s Song for Freedom/Martí y sus versos por la libertad, illustrated by Beatriz Vidal, which received five starred reviews, was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and the New York Public Library, and was the recipient of the International Literacy Association’s Children’s and Young Adult Book Award in Intermediate Nonfiction, and A Sled for Gabo, illustrated by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez, which was an NCTE Charlotte Huck Recommended Book and a Best Book of the Year by the Chicago and New York Public Libraries and Parents Latina magazine. Her middle-grade novels include Silver Meadows Summer, which was called “a magnificent contribution to the diversity of the new American literature for young readers” by Pura Belpré-winning author Ruth Behar; Secrets of the Silver Lion: A Carmen Sandiego Novel; and Sofía Acosta Makes a Scene. Emma also co-authored The Madre de Aguas of Cuba: Unicorn Rescue Society middle grade fantasy with Newbery Honor-winner Adam Gidwitz.

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Andrea M. Page (Hunkpapa Lakota) writes middle grade, picture books, and educator guides for children’s books by Native authors. She is the author of SIOUX CODE TALKERS OF WORLD WAR II (Pelican Publishing), which won a 2019 Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) Gold Medal. She serves as a board member for the Children’s Literature Assembly (CLA) of the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE), where she recently became one of the vice-chairs of CLA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. In addition, Andrea is an instructor at the Highlights Foundation, where she mentors other children’s writers.

Her projects include a contribution to the bestselling “Who Was…?” series titled WHO WAS WILMA MANKILLER? (Penguin Workshop). Andrea is a long-time member of the Rochester Area Children’s Writers and Illustrators (RACWI) group and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

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Dan’s writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and McSweeney’s, among other publications. He studied Geography and City Planning at West Chester University of Pennsylvania and Science Writing at Johns Hopkins University. Dan is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the National Association of Science Writers (NASW).

Dan’s recent books include THEY HOLD THE LINE: WILDFIRES, WILDLANDS, AND THE FIREFIGHTERS WHO BRAVE THEM.

Edith Pattou is the author of three award-winning fantasy novels for young adults as well as the New York Times bestselling picture book, MRS. SPITZER’S GARDEN. 

She was born in Evanston, Illinois, grew up in Winnetka, and was a teenager in the city of Chicago. She completed her B.A. at Scripps College in Claremont, California where she won the Crombie Allen Award for creative writing. She later completed a Master’s degree in English Literature at Claremont Graduate School followed by a Masters of Library and Information Science at UCLA. She currently resides with her husband, Charles, in Columbus, Ohio. 

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Nicki Pau Preto is the author of YA fantasy trilogy Crown of Feathers and the forthcoming YA duology, Bonesmith. Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents is her MG debut.

Shawn Peters has spent more than two decades writing professionally for television and advertising.

Marine Peyrard worked in the cultural and popular education sectors before devoting her time to her activities as an author and photographer. Her first poetry work, Viande à viol, was published in 2021 (republished in 2024) and she is the author of the poetic tale La princesse sans reflet, illustrated by Mirion Malle (Éditions Daronnes, 2023). Her first novel, A la fin nous ferons histoire, was published in 2024.

Nadine Pinede is the daughter of Haitian exiles from the Duvalier dictatorship. She earned her literature degree from Harvard and studied French and English at Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. Her MFA is in Fiction and Poetry. Her PhD in Philosophy of Education focused on literature and the moral imagination. Pinede, twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize and shortlisted for a Hurston-Wright award, has to her credit fiction and poetry published as well as two nonfiction works. As a member of the Authors Guild and Women Writers of Haitian Descent, and a We Need Diverse Books mentee and grantee, her poetry has been widely anthologized.

Nadine lives and works in Belgium and is an editor for Enchanted Lion Books. WHEN THE MAPOU SINGS is Nadine’s first young adult novel in verse.

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Weng Pixin was born in 1983 and grew up in sunny Singapore. As a child, Pixin’s father used to tell her stories—stories that reflected his curious nature. When Pixin began making art, she wanted to express that same curious nature in her semi-autobiographical comics.

Pixin’s debut graphic novel, SWEET TIME was published by Drawn & Quarterly in 2020. It compiles a collection of short-form comics she’d created between 2008 - 2017, capturing themes of loneliness, desire, disconnection and connectedness. Her second graphic novel, LET'S NOT TALK ANYMORE (published by Drawn & Quarterly in 2021) was inspired by her once-fraught relationship with her mother, which led to Pixin’s interest to dive into the untold stories of figures along her matrilineal line. She currently divides her time between facilitating art workshops for children and working on her comics and art.

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Maya Prasad is the YA author of Fall Winter Spring Summer (Disney, 2022) & a story in the anthology Foreshadow (Algonquin YR, 2020)

Elvis Presley is one of the most influential pop culture figures of the 20th century. Often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", Elvis’ commanding voice and charismatic stage presence unleashed a musical and cultural revolution that changed the world forever. Over the course of his career, Elvis was nominated for 14 Grammy Awards (3 wins), sold over 1 billion records world-wide, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and was named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation by the United States Jaycees. In addition to his musical accolades, Elvis starred in 33 films and made numerous television appearances. Today Elvis continues to inspire musicians, fashion designers, and social influencers and captivate audiences around the world.

Like the swamp hag she hopes one day to become, Cynthia Prith lives in the deep backwoods, in a hobbit hole planted on the crossroads between three states. She splits her time between her cozy abode and curious wandering. Her hobbies include seeking adventure (unique roadside attractions), obtaining ancient treasures (vintage thrift store finds), and collecting esoteric tomes (magical or otherwise).

Nick Pyenson is a paleontologist at the Smithsonian Institution where he studies the evolution and ecology of whales. Along with his scientific collaborators, he has named over a dozen new fossil species, discovered the richest fossil whale graveyard on the planet, and described an entirely new sensory organ in living whales. He has received the highest research awards from the Smithsonian for his work, including the Secretary’s Research Prize and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Barack Obama’s Administration. Pyenson is also a member of the Young Scientists community at the World Economic Forum, and the father of two young kids.

Suhasini Raj is an award winning journalist, who has worked for over a decade as an investigative journalist with Indian and international news outlets. She joined The New York Times in 2014 and has reported extensively on stories ranging from the rise of Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to how the country has reeled under the effects of Covid 19 to climate change, amongst others. Prior to her time at The New York Times, Ms. Raj worked undercover on a story that exposed a bribe-taking scheme involving eleven members of India’s Parliament. As a result of her reporting, the politicians were expelled from their positions. Ms. Raj is originally from Lucknow, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where she also attended university. She is married with one son, and enjoys classical music — and a good story!

Aimee Reid is an author with a background in education and editing. She taught high school English, Music, and Special Education before she began to work full-time as a writer. As a child, Aimee was a voracious reader and could often be found—curled in a corner, tucked in the crook of a tree limb, or crouched by a book rack in the grocery store aisle—carried away to the world of a book. Now Aimee sends her own stories out into the world. It brings her great joy to think of other children nestled on a lap or cuddled on a couch reading good books to share.

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Michael Relth is a veteran animator based in Los Angeles.

Rob Renzetti is a veteran of TV animation, whose work on Cartoon Network earned him an Emmy. He created the Nickelodeon show MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT, acted as the supervising producer for Disney’s GRAVITY FALLS, and served as executive producer on the first two seasons of Disney’s BIG CITY GREENS, as well as many other credits. He has also published four books for Disney Publishing, including the New York Times #1 Best Seller GRAVITY FALLS: JOURNAL THREE.

When he’s not writing, Rob likes to play boardgames, watch horror movies, and chase after his very naughty rabbit, Zigzag.

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Raegan Revord is an American actor and author who played Missy Cooper on Young Sheldon for all seven seasons (2017–2024).

Jen and Kate, also known as Kaiju, a couple of comic artists working together to create projects close to their hearts. They are SVA graduates and debuted with Chromatic Press in 2014 with The Ring of Saturn. Their next work, Mahou Josei Chimaka, won a DINKy award in March of 2016. Their short comic Inhabitant of Another Planet, was also nominated for a DINKy the following year. They’re currently working on their YA webcomic series Novae and a middle grade duology called Haven and the Fallen Giants.

Ex-graphic designer, Laurier The Fox is a trans activist, illustrator, and graphic novel writer. He draws and addresses mainly social and political subjects close to feminism, LGBTQIAP+ issues, anti-racism, ableism, etc. His first graphic novel ReconnaiTrans was published by Éditions Lapin in 2021. He also illustrated and did the sensitivity reading for the children’s book Je m’appelle Julie (On ne compte pas pour du beurre, 2022)

Jennifer’s endless curiosity has taken her from Philadelphia to Frankfurt and has led to careers in the U.S. Foreign Service, secondary education, finance, editing, audio description for television, and copywriting. Throughout all the changes in locales and jobs, writing was one constant. The other was her husband, whom she met in Germany while on her first tour as a foreign service officer.

Jennifer’s poetry, short stories, and novels draw heavily from her many interests and hobbies—with a particular focus on birding and astronomy. She’s passionate about expanding young people’s horizons and imaginations as well as promoting racial harmony over division. Now a resident of Maryland, Jennifer writes in a small upper-floor room overlooking her bird feeders. She also enjoys hiking, crocheting, and following the latest news from NASA. 

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Danielle Ridolfi is a picturebook author-illustrator with an MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture from the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. Her debut picture book, When the Dark Clouds Come, was published by Quill Tree Books in October 2025. Danielle writes and illustrates picture books for children about the natural world and our equally complex emotional landscape that encourage quiet observation, discovery, and reflection. She uses collage and printmaking in her work and is interested in the ways these methods can connect readers with tangible objects, memories, and places. You can often find pressed plants, photographs, and bits of ephemera in her work, and all of them have a story.

Danielle is also an instructor at Washington University in St. Louis where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses about picture book illustration and children’s publishing and often writes about children's illustration and visual culture. She was the 2024 recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats & Kerlan Memorial Fellowship from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. When she is not in the classroom or the studio, you can find Danielle browsing antique stores, rehabbing her 1902 Victorian home, quilting, or camping in the Missouri Ozarks. Danielle lives in Belleville, Illinois with her partner Eugene.

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Florence Rivières is an author, script and gamewriter. They navigate within various forms and genres in literature, and wrote the script for Tu n’auras pas mon silence, a graphic novel published by Marabulles in 2024.

A former fashion editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, Roberts is an artist, illustrator, photographer, and stylist whose work also appears in Tatler, Italian Vogue, and other international publications.

Jodi Rodgers is a qualified sexologist, counsellor, and special-education teacher with 30 years’ experience working within the education, disability, and sexuality fields. She is featured as the relationship specialist on Love on the Spectrum, Netflix’s hit docuseries that follows autistic people on their search for love. With her unique combination of qualifications and experience, Jodi has developed counseling and training programs for neurologically diverse individuals and their support networks. Her private practice, Birds and Bees, helps neurodivergent people learn about the complex areas of sexuality and relationships and, even more fundamentally, how to create love and connection.

Kim Rogers is the author of Just Like Grandma,  winner of the 2024 Charlotte Zolotow Award, 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor for Writer, illustrated by Julie Flett; A Letter for Bob, winner of the 2024 American Indian Youth Literature Award, 2024 Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title, illustrated by Jonathan Nelson; and I Am Osage: How Clarence Tinker became the First Native American Major General, illustrated by Bobby Von Martin, all with HarperCollins/Heartdrum. She is a contributor to Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids (Heartdrum 2021). The cover, illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt, was inspired by Jessie, the protagonist in her short story, “Flying Together.” Her poem, “What is a Powwow” is also included. Kim is an enrolled member of Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and is a member of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Much of her current writing highlights her Wichita heritage. She lives with her family on her tribe’s ancestral homelands in Oklahoma.

A novelist, playwright, and screenwriter, Rudnick has written three books and frequently writes for The New Yorker. His articles and essays have also appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and Spy. His screenplays include InandOut and Addams Family Values, and his plays include I Hate Hamlet. Using the pseudonym Libby Gelman-Waxner, Rudnick wrote film criticism for Premiere magazine.

Katheryn Russell-Brown is a children’s book author, Professor of Law, and Director of the Race and Crime Center for Justice at the University of Florida. She is the author of the picture book biographies Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, illustrated by Frank Morrison, which received the Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustration, the Eureka! Honor Award, and was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature; A Voice Named Aretha, illustrated by Laura Freeman, which was named a Best Book of the Year by The Brown Bookshelf; and She Was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, which won the 2021 NAACP Image Award and was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and The Chicago Public Library, and included in the Rise: A Feminist Book Project List. Katheryn was born in New York City and grew up in Oakland, California. She lives in Gainesville, Florida.

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Geo Rutherford is an artist, professor, and TikTok sensation who is known for her work educating viewers on the science of hydrology.

Aminah Mae Safi is the author of four novels, including Tell Me How You Really Feel (Feiwel & Friends) and the forthcoming Travelers Along the Way: a Robin Hood Remix (Feiwel & Friends, 2022). She’s an erstwhile art historian, a fan of Cholula on popcorn, and an un-ironic lover of the Fast and the Furious franchise. Her writing has been featured on Bustle and Salon and her award-winning short stories can be found in Fresh Ink (Crown Books) and the forthcoming Freshman Orientation (Candlewick Press, 2023).

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 and is recognized as one of the pioneers in the arena of LGBTQ+ literary nonfiction picture books. 

A native of Springfield, Missouri, he has lived in Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee. After earning a B.S. in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Religious Education, Rob worked for fifteen years in children’s religious educational publishing as a writer, educational consultant, trainer, editor, editorial group manager, and product developer.

In 2006, Rob moved to Florida and began working as an elementary school teacher. Soon he was serving as a district writing trainer and resource teacher. But he spent most of his career teaching fourth graders about books and words and reading and writing. Rob now writes full time. 

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Michelle Schusterman is the author of over a dozen critically acclaimed novels for middle grade and youngadult readers.

Kaitlin M Sikes is a mother, pediatric nurse practitioner, and lifelong learner. She writes poetry and lyrical children’s books, both fiction and nonfiction. She grew up on a small island in Florida and spent her free time writing stories, making potions, and cracking open coconuts to see what was inside. As an adult, she was drawn to medical science and received her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Florida. Having a family of her own reintroduced her to the wonders of nature. She gravitates towards stories that illuminate the invisible tapestry woven between every rock, plant, animal, and human being. She has a particular interest in reaching neurodiverse readers. She can usually be found in her backyard, listening for the whisper of inspiration, and inviting the wild edges in.

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