Meet Our Authors

Alex Aster is an author who lives in New York City, just blocks away from her sister and (more importantly) her sister's miniature poodle, Leo. She started writing books when she was thirteen years old, and got her first book deal right after graduating from college. Visit her online at asterverse.com or on Twitter @byalexaster.

Max Brallier is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books and games, including the middle-grade series The Last Kids on Earth. In the olden days, Max was a game designer for the virtual world Poptropica and worked in marketing at St. Martin's Press. Max lives in Los Angeles with his family. Visit him online at maxbrallier.com or on Instagram @max_loves_pants.

Co-founder of the award-winning blog, The Brown Bookshelf, Paula Chase is a longtime Inclusion Jedi and advocate for diversifying the type of fiction featuring Black characters that’s highlighted among educators, librarians and parents. She’s presented and blogged about the need to expand the focus beyond children’s literature that centers the pain of the Black experience. Chase is the author of nine children’s books. So Done (Greenwillow/HarperCollins), her critically acclaimed middle grade debut, was named a 2018 Kirkus Reviews Best Book. So Done and its companions, Dough Boys and Turning Point, are blazing the trail for books that tackle tough and sometimes taboo topics for younger readers.

Jerry Craft is a New York Times bestselling author-illustrator who has worked on numerous picture books, graphic novels, and middle grade novels, including the Newbery award-winning graphic novel, New Kid. Jerry is the creator of Mama’s Boyz, an award-winning syndicated comic strip. He has won five African American Literary Awards and is a cofounder of the Schomburg Center’s Annual Black Comic Book Festival. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and now lives in Connecticut. Visit him online at www.jerrycraft.com.

Julia DeVillers is the author of the UltraSquad series, the Liberty Porter, First Daughter series, and How My Private, Personal Journal Became a Bestseller, which became the Disney Channel original movie Read It And Weep (in which Julia had a cameo playing ‘Woman Who Is About to Vomit.’) She also wrote the Trading Places series with her twin sister, Jennifer Roy. She lives in Columbus, Ohio. Visit her at www.juliadevillers.com or on Instagram @juliadevillers.

Stuart Gibbs is the New York Times bestselling author of Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation and the FunJungle, Spy School, and Moon Base Alpha series. He has written the screenplays for movies like See Spot Run and Repli-Kate, worked on a whole bunch of animated films, and developed TV shows for Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC, and Fox. Stuart lives with his family in Los Angeles. You can learn more about what he's up to at StuartGibbs.com.

Karina Yan Glaser is the New York Times bestselling author of the Vanderbeeker series and a contributing editor for Book Riot. She lives in a tiny apartment in Harlem with her husband, two daughters, three cats, two dogs, and one rabbit. She carries a book with her wherever she goes. Visit her online at www.karinaglaser.com.

Alan Gratz is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several highly acclaimed books for young readers, including Allies, Grenade, Ground Zero, Refugee, Projekt 1065, Prisoner B-3087, and Code of Honor. Alan lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughter. Look for him online at alangratz.com, on Twitter @alangratz, or on Instagram @alan.gratz.

Vashti Harrison is the #1 New York Times bestselling creator of Little Leaders, Little Dreamers, and Little Legends, and the illustrator of Lupita Nyong'o's Sulwe and Matthew Cherry's Hair Love, among others. She earned her BA in studio art and media studies from the University of Virginia and her MFA in film/video from CalArts, where she rekindled a love of drawing and painting. Vashti lives in Brooklyn, New York, and invites you to visit her at vashtiharrison.com or on Instagram and Twitter @vashtiharrison.

Emily Jenkins writes picture books and middle grade novels. She co-writes the Upside-Down Magic series, which is now a movie on Disney +. Picture books include Lemonade in Winter, A Greyhound a Groundhog and the Sydney Taylor Award winning All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah. Her chapter books include Toys Go Out, the fairy tale collection Brave Red Smart Frog, and Harry Versus the First One Hundred Days of School (June 2021). 

Tae Keller was born and raised in Honolulu, where she grew up on purple rice, Spam musubi, and her halmoni’s tiger stories. She is the Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Trap a Tiger and The Science of Breakable Things. She lives in Seattle. Visit her at TaeKeller.com, follow her monthly love letters at bit.ly/lovetae, and find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Hena Khan is the award-winning author of the middle grade novels Amina’s Voice, Amina’s Song, More to the Story, and the Zayd Saleem: Chasing the Dream series, plus a bunch of picture books like Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns and Under My Hijab. When she isn't traveling, Hena lives in Maryland with her family and waters her plants. Her favorite things are getting letters from kids, perfect cappuccinos, and reading in bed. Visit her online at www.henakhan.com or on Instagram and Twitter @henakhanbooks.

Gordon Korman is the author of more than ninety books for kids and young adults, most recently War Stories and Unplugged. He is a full-time writer and speaker, with over thirty-five million copies of his novels in print in thirty-three languages. He lives with his family in Long Island, New York. You can find him online at www.gordonkorman.com.

Kat Leyh is a Chicago based writer and artist. She’s best known as the current co-writer and cover artist for the series Lumberjanes, and for her queer superhero webcomic Supercakes. She’s also worked as a cover artist, and back-up writer/artist for several BOOM! Studios series. Visit her online at katleyh.com, on Twitter @kaymlay, or on Tumblr at katleyh.tumblr.com.

Ann Clare LeZotte is the author of the Schneider Family Book Award-winning novel Show Me a Sign. A passionate advocate for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, as well as underserved youth from marginalized communities, Ann worked for many years as a youth librarian. Set Me Free, a standalone companion to Show Me a Sign, will be published in September 2021. Ann lives in Gainesville, Florida. She loves to zip off to the beach in St. Augustine and walk her rescue dog Perkins.

Meg Medina is the 2019 Newbery Medalist for Merci Suárez Changes Gears. About this sequel, she says, “I’m so excited to bring my readers into the world of the Suárez family and Seaward Pines once again. . . . New friends, new teachers, and new self-doubts. It’s been a thrill to write about all the zany things that the seventh grade can throw at a person.” The recipient of the Pura Belpré Author Award for her young adult novel Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, Meg Medina is also the author of the novels Burn Baby Burn and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind and the picture books Mango, Abuela, and Me and Tía Isa Wants a Car, for which she received an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. Meg Medina lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her family.

Sarah Mlynowski is the author of the New York Times bestselling Whatever After series, the Magic in Manhattan series, Gimme a Call, and a bunch of other books for tweens and teens, including the Upside-Down Magic series, which she cowrites with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins. Originally from Montreal, Sarah now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at sarahm.com.

Rex Ogle was born and raised mostly in Texas, but moved to New York City where he worked as a comic book editor at Marvel and DC Comics and later as a book editor at Scholastic. Now, he lives in Los Angeles where he writes full-time…when he’s not hiking with his dog, playing video games, or reading comics. Visit Rex at www.rexogle.com or on Instagram @thirdrex.

Ellen Oh is a former adjunct college instructor and lawyer with an insatiable curiosity for ancient Asian history. She loves martial arts films, K-pop, K-dramas, and cooking shows, and is a rabid fan of the Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra series. Ellen is the co-founder of We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing diversity in children’s literature. Originally from New York City, Ellen lives in Potomac, Maryland, with her husband and three children and has yet to satisfy her quest for a decent bagel.

Celia Perez likes drinking coffee, eating brownies, playing with her dog, watching her son play sports, reading ghost stories, collecting things in jars, and writing about weirdos and outsiders. She is the author of Strange Birds: A Field Guide to Ruffling Feathers and The First Rule of Punk. Her favorite color is black. She grew up in Miami, Florida and now lives in Chicago with her family. Visit her online at www.celiacperez.com.

James Ponti is the New York Times Bestselling author of three Middle Grade book series: the all-new CITY SPIES, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; The Edgar Award-winning FRAMED! series, about a pair of Sherlockian tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, D.C.; and the DEAD CITY trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. He is also an Emmy-nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History Channel, Spike TV, and the Golf Channel. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. Find out more at JamesPonti.com.

Brendan Reichs is the New York Times bestselling author of Nemesis and its sequels Genesis and Chrysalis, co-author of the middle-grade adventures The Darkdeep, The Beast, and The Torchbearers, with Ally Condie, and co-author of the international bestselling Virals series. Brendan helps organizes the YALLFEST and YALLWEST literary festivals and has an MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. He lives in Charlotte with his family and a herd of animals that tear up everything.

Debbie Rigaud is the coauthor of Alyssa Milano's Hope series and the author of Truly Madly Royally and the forthcoming Simone Breaks all the Rules (June 2021). She grew up in East Orange, New Jersey, and started her career writing for entertainment and teen magazines. She now lives with her husband and children in Columbus, Ohio. Find out more at debbierigaud.com.

John Rocco is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Blackout, recipient of the Caldecott Honor and How We Got To The Moon, recipient of the Sibert Honor and Longlisted for the National Book Award. Rocco has illustrated the covers for Rick Riordan's internationally bestselling series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and The Trials of Apollo. He also created the illustrations for the #1 New York Times bestsellers Percy Jackson's Greek Gods and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes.

Liesl Shurtliff is the author of the New York Times bestselling (Fairly) True Tales series, including Rump, which was awarded an ILA Children’s Book Award and named to over two dozen state award lists. She was born in Utah, the fifth of eight children, and now lives in Chicago with her husband and four children. Visit her at lieslshurtliff.com or on Twitter and Instagram @lieslshurtliff.

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the bestselling, acclaimed author of books for all ages, including Rain Is Not My Indian Name, Indian Shoes, Jingle Dancer, and Hearts Unbroken, which won the American Indian Library Association’s Youth Literature Award; she is also the anthologist of Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids. Most recently, she was named the 2021 NSK Neustadt Laureate. Cynthia is the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint at HarperCollins Children’s Books, and serves as the Katherine Paterson Inaugural Endowed Chair on the faculty of the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and lives in Austin, Texas. You can visit Cynthia online at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com.

Ronald L. Smith is the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award–winning author of Hoodoo, The Mesmerist, The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away, and Black Panther: The Young Prince. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Visit him online at strangeblackflowers.com, on Twitter @ronsmithbooks, or on Instagram @ronsmithwriter.

Christina Soontornvat is the award-winning author of over a dozen books for children of all ages. Her picture books include The Ramble Shamble Children, illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Lauren Castillo, and Simon at the Art Museum, illustrated by Christine Davenier. She is the author of the beloved Diary of an Ice Princess chapter book series. Her recent works include the middle grade fantasy, A Wish in the Dark, which was named a 2021 Newbery Honor Book, and was chosen as Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post and School Library Journal, and All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, which has received numerous nonfiction awards and was also named a 2021 Newbery Honor Book.

Jasmine Warga is the author of the New York Times bestseller Other Words For Home. Other Words For Home earned multiple awards, including a John Newbery Honor, a Walter Honor for Young Readers, and a Charlotte Huck Honor. She is also the author of young adult books, My Heart and Other Black Holes and Here We Are Now, which have been translated into over twenty different languages. The Shape of Thunder, her next novel for middle grade readers, will be published in May 2021. Originally from Cincinnati, she now lives in the Chicago-area with her family. Visit her online at www.jasminewarga.com, on Twitter @jasminewarga, or on Instagram @jassiewarga.

Alicia D. Williams is the author of Jump at the Sun and Genesis Begins Again, which received a Newbery and Kirkus Prize honors, was a William C. Morris Award finalist, and for which she won the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent. A graduate of the MFA program at Hamline University, and an oral storyteller in the African American tradition, she is also a teacher in Charlotte, North Carolina.