Marcks

Ira Marcks is the award-winning cartoonist behind the creepy kid mysteries Shark Summer, Spirit Week and the upcoming Snake School. His books have been recommended by The New York Times, appeared on ‘Best of the Year’ list for the American Library Association, received a Gold Selection from the Junior Library Guild, as well as Maryland’s […]
Andersen Brower

Kate Andersen Brower is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Residence and First Women, also a New York Times bestseller, as well as Team Of Five, First In Line, and the children’s books Exploring the White House and The Hill: Inside the Secret World of the U.S. Capitol. The Residence is […]
Duncan

Violet Duncan is Plains Cree and Taino from Kehewin Cree Nation. As an accomplished author, educator, dancer, and storyteller, she has toured both nationally and internationally, sharing her talents and promoting wellness and cultural education across the US, Canada, and Europe. After becoming a mother of four and seeing the need for greater Native representation […]
Shannon Smith

Nikki Shannon Smith is an educator, presenter, and the award-winning author of over 20 published and forthcoming books, ranging from board books to young adult novels. She is the author of the Azaleah Lane chapter book series (Capstone) as well as the board book series Brown Baby Parade (PRH/Crown). Nikki’s work includes two Little Golden […]
Sawyerr

Hannah V. Sawyerr is a Sierra Leonean-American writer with a passion for people and storytelling. For Hannah’s literary and community involvement, she was recognized as the 2016 Youth Poet Laureate of Baltimore. Her spoken word poetry has been featured on the British Broadcasting Channel’s (BBC) “World Have Your Say” program, as well as the National […]
Abed

Omar Abed writes children’s books, poetry, and computer code. While studying computer engineering in college, Omar turned to spoken-word poetry as a creative outlet for self-expression. His passion for rhyme and rhythm set him on an unplanned path to writing picture books. He self-published his first book, You, Me, and a Tree, in order to […]
Lee

For more than 25 years, Justin Lee has been known for handling divisive issues with thoughtfulness and nuance. He is the author of Talking Across the Divide: How to Communicate with People You Disagree With and Maybe Even Change the World, which is now being used as a textbook in college classrooms to teach students […]
Graves

Byron Graves is Ojibwe and Lakota. He was born and raised on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, where he played high school basketball. When he isn’t writing, he can be found playing retro video games, skateboarding, or cleaning up after his cats. Rez Ball, his debut novel won the William C Morris Young Adult debut […]
Tison

Ari Tison (Bribri) is the award-winning poet and the author of YA hybrid poetry & prose novel Saints of the Household (2023) and the forthcoming YA novel Together We See (2025) with FSG/Macmillan. Saints of the Household was the winner of the 2024 Walter Dean Myers Award, the winner of the 2024 Pura Belpré Award, […]
Detlefsen

Lisl H. Detlefsen is the author of a growing number of picture books. Her first, TIME FOR CRANBERRIES (Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press, illustrated by Jed Henry) was a Junior Library Guild selection, a 2016 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (K–2), and the 2017 Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom Book of the Year. IF […]