Chan
Michelle Jing Chan (she/her) is a queer Chinese American author-illustrator who studied engineering and economics, but now creates books and comics for kids and teens. She gravitates towards empowering stories that celebrate diversity and self-acceptance –books she would have loved to read as a kid. Michelle’s books have earned awards from the Children’s Book Council, […]
Shannon Smith
Nikki Shannon Smith is an educator, presenter, and the award-winning author of nearly 30 published and forthcoming books, ranging from board books to young adult novels. Her middle grade novel STRANDED (Scholastic) is a nominee for both the 2026 Georgia Children’s Book Award and the Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award. She also wrote the Azaleah […]
La Tray
Chris La Tray is a Métis storyteller, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North and an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. His third book, Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home, was published by Milkweed Editions on August 20, 2024. His first […]
Joy
A twelfth generation North Carolinian, David Joy grew up in the Piedmont along the Catawba River, moved away at eighteen, and has spent the last 22 years 100 miles west in the mountains of Jackson County. His work is place-driven and deeply rooted to Appalachia, and has been translated into six languages. In 2023, his […]
Timmerman
Kelsey Timmerman is the New York Times bestselling author of the “Where Am I?” series: Where Am I Wearing?, Where Am I Eating?, and Where Am I Giving?. Through these books, Kelsey puts faces to the global garment, food, and philanthropy industries. With a blend of humor and storytelling, he educates audiences and readers, encouraging […]
Moore
Edward Kelsey Moore is the author of the New York Times and international bestselling novel The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat and a second Supremes novel, The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues. The Supremes At Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat was chosen as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and was also named an Illinois […]
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 […]
Toalson
R.L. (Rachel) Toalson is the award-winning author of multiple prose and poetry novels for young people, including the middle grade books The Colors of the Rain, The Woods, The First Magnificent Summer, Something Maybe Magnificent, The Unforgettable Leta “Lightning” Laurel, and My Brother Oliver, (Simon & Schuster, May 2026), as well as several poetry and […]
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 […]
Mendez
Jasminne Mendez is a Pura Belpré Honor award author and best-selling Dominican-American poet, educator, translator, and playwright of several books for children and adults. Born and raised all over the country due to her father’s military service, She is the daughter of immigrants and considers herself an Afro-Latina of The South since she was raised […]