Stewart
Erin Stewart writes relatable, realistic fiction for tackles tough topics. Her novel, THE WORDS WE KEEP, received the prestigious Schneider Family Book Award from the American Library Association for its portrayal of the disability experience. The novel features mental health themes such as anxiety in what Kirkus calls “a sprawling, engrossing read” with “an overpowering […]
Slocumb
Brendan Nicholaus Slocumb was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in music education, concentrations on Violin and Viola. For the past two decades, he has been a public and private school music educator from kindergarten through twelfth grade, teaching general music, […]
Harvey Garner
Chelsea Harvey Garner is a psychotherapist, writer, and founding director of Big Feels Lab, a nonprofit promoting collective mental health. Clinically, she specializes in working with trauma survivors, self-identified misfits, and unconventional families. In both her creative and therapeutic work, she helps clients turn pain into purpose and find true belonging with themselves and each […]
Rhee
Helena Ku Rhee is an award-winning author of books for kids and the young at heart. Her latest book, Sora’s Seashells, won a 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor for Writing. Her bestselling book The Paper Kingdom was included on many year-end Best Books lists, including NPR, BookPage, Kirkus, Parents Magazine and the Los Angeles […]
Charlton-Trujillo
Described as a “force of nature” by Kirkus Reviews, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo is unquestionably one of the most dynamic and inspiring speakers for youth today. The one-time, small-town Texas native is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and youth literacy activist. They have written several books for teens and children such as the ALA winning Fat Angie series […]
Garrett
Camryn Garrett is an NAACP Image Award-nominated author and filmmaker. Her first novel, Full Disclosure, received rave reviews from outlets such as Entertainment Weekly, the Today Show, and The Guardian, which called it “warm, funny and thoughtfully sex-positive, an impressive debut from a writer still in her teens.” Her second novel, Off the Record, received […]
Stamper
J.E. Stamper is the author of Ugly Me, a stunningly written fictional tale based on the real-life experiences of real students, and its sequel Perennial Girl. He is a public school educator and author who lives in Virginia with his amazing wife and their incredible children. He is plagued by senseless optimism, an overactive imagination, and […]
Vasquez Gilliland
Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is a Mexican American poet, novelist and painter. She’s most inspired by fog and seeds and the lineages of all things. When not writing, Raquel tells stories to her plants and they tell her stories back. She lives in Tennessee with her beloved family and mountains. Her first poetry collection was Dirt […]
Platt
Like most artists out there in the world, Jason Platt was known as that kid in the class who could draw. He was the one who could draw Charles M. Schulz or Jim Davis’ characters on a dime and make the other kids smile. (This did get him in trouble during recess once. Apparently selling […]
McGovern
Kate McGovern is the author of Rules for 50/50 Chances and Fear of Missing Out, both out now from Farrar Straus & Giroux. Sometimes she also writes other stuff, like essays about teaching, relationships, trains, and her grandmother. The New York Times once called a play she wrote “a quirky, personable little one act with […]