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 […]
Rosen
Renée Rosen is the USA Today bestselling author of nine novels, including Let’s Call Her Barbie, Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl, The Social Graces, Park Avenue Summer and others. Her novels tend to feature strong, enterprising women such as Ruth Handler, Estée Lauder, Alva Vanderbilt and Helen Gurley Brown. In the words of New York Times […]
Francis-Sharma
Lauren Francis-Sharma is the author of both Book of the Little Axe, the 2020 American Library Association’s “Libraries Transform Book Pick” and finalist for the Hurston/Wright Award in Fiction, as well as her 2014 debut novel, ‘Til the Well Runs Dry, which was chosen as an O, The Oprah Magazine Summer Reading Pick and awarded […]
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 […]
Fuentes
Marcela Fuentes is a Pushcart Prize-winning fiction writer and essayist. Her essays and stories have appeared in Texas Highways Magazine, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, and other journals. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (MFA) and Georgia State University (PhD). She was the 2016-2017 James C. McCreight Fiction Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for […]
Dray
Stephanie Dray is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Renowned for her captivating storytelling and detailed historical narratives, Stephanie has written acclaimed works such as America’s First Daughter, My Dear Hamilton, The Women of Chateau Lafayette, and Becoming Madam Secretary. These novels have cemented her […]
Larison
John Larison was born in 1979 in Philomath, Oregon. The son of National Geographic filmmakers, he spent much of his childhood on-assignment, often staying in remote tropical or mountainous regions among subsistence communities. He attended the University of Oregon and studied philosophy and literature, and stayed to earn a Master’s of Education. While learning to […]
Choo
Yangsze Choo is the New York Times bestselling author of THE GHOST BRIDE (now a Netflix Original series) and THE NIGHT TIGER, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick, Amazon’s Spotlight Pick, a Book of the Month Club selection, and one of Bookbub and USA Today’s best books of the year. It was also a Big […]
Johnson
Kim Johnson has a rich history of leadership, beginning with her early roles in social justice organizations during her teen years and throughout college. Her passion for creating positive change led her to a distinguished twenty-year career in higher education, where she served in various administrative roles, ultimately becoming a vice provost where she advanced […]
Phillips
Jayne Anne Philips is the author of six novels, including Night Watch, Quiet Dell, Lark And Termite, MotherKind, Shelter, and Machine Dreams, and two widely anthologized story collections, Fast Lanes, and Black Tickets. Night Watch was awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Longlisted for the National Book Award; Quiet Dell was a Wall […]