Elisa

Stone Leahy

Children’s and Middle Grade Author

Award Nominated Writer

Travels from: Columbus, OH

“A beautifully executed, character-driven tale of family, courage, resilience, and the meaning of what is right.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Elisa Stone Leahy is a queer, Peruvian-American children’s author who lives with her husband and kids in Columbus, Ohio. She likes writing about characters with complicated identities because her own identity has plenty of layers. Elisa was born in Ica, Peru, to American parents and lived there most of her life. She left Peru to study in the US, then left the US to start a family in Canada.

In 2007, Elisa started a documentary film company with her partner, Matthew. Together they have told stories about kids in Honduras with HIV/AIDS, guerrilla gardening in Vancouver, Canada, elderly activists around the United States, and a handwoven Incan footbridge in the Peruvian Andes. Whether creating films or connecting readers to books through her work at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Elisa has always surrounded herself with stories.

Elisa’s work with immigration advocacy, in particular with her friend Edith Espinal, inspired her to write her first book, Tethered to Other Stars. Her debut was a finalist for the Cybils Award and the Ohioana Book Award, made the 2024 Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices list, the Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year list, and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, which called it “beautifully executed.” Her second book, Mallory in Full Color (November 2024) explores queer identity and learning to value all the many facets of ourselves. It was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, made the NYPL Best Books for Kids list, was named on SLJ’s Best Books of 2024 list, and received starred reviews from The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books and School Library Journal, which called it “a must-read.

Elisa's Featured Titles

Mallory in Full Color

Quill Tree Books |

November 19, 2024

Middle Grade

A funny, poignant middle grade novel about a tween who navigates questions of identity and friendship when her anonymous web comic goes viral, from the acclaimed author of Tethered to Other Stars.

Mallory Marsh is an expert at molding into whatever other people want her to be. Her true thoughts and feelings only come out in her sci-fi web comic, which she publishes anonymously as Dr. BotGirl.

But juggling all the versions of herself gets tricky, especially when Mal’s mom signs her up for swim team. Instead of being honest about hating competitive swim, Mal skips out on practice and secretly joins the library’s comic club. There Mal meets Noa, a cute enby kid who is very sure of who they are. As Mal helps Noa plan a drag queen story time, she tries to be the person she thinks Noa wants her to be—by lying about her stage fright.

Then Mal’s web comic goes viral, and kids at school start recognizing the unflattering characters based on Mal’s real-life friends. With negative pushback threatening the drag queen story time and Dr.BotGirl’s identity getting harder to hide, Mallory must reckon with the lies she has told.

If she reveals her full self, will her friends, her parents, and her new crush accept the real Mallory Marsh?

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Fiction, Friendship & Community, Gender & Sexuality, Illustration & Graphic Storytelling, Kid-Lit: Middle Grade, LGBTQI+ Concerns & Perspectives

Tethered to Other Stars

Quill Tree Books |

October 3, 2023

Middle Grade

Perfect for fans of Efrén Divided and A Good Kind of Trouble, this luminous middle grade debut follows a tween girl navigating the devastating impact of ICE’s looming presence on her family and community.

Seventh grader Wendy Toledo knows that black holes and immigration police have one thing in common: they can both make things disappear without a trace. When her family moves to a new all-American neighborhood, Wendy knows the plan: keep her head down, build a telescope that will win the science fair, and stay on her family’s safe orbit.

But that’s easier said than done when there’s a woman hiding out from ICE agents in the church across the alley—and making Wendy’s parents very nervous.

As bullying at school threatens Wendy’s friendships and her hopes for the science fair, and her family’s secrets start to unravel, Wendy finds herself caught in the middle of far too many gravitational pulls. When someone she loves is detained by ICE, Wendy must find the courage to set her own orbit—and maybe shift the paths of everyone around her.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Immigrant & Refugee Perspectives, Kid-Lit: Middle Grade

The Author's Journey

This classic author talk covers the author’s background and her journey into publishing with a focus on growth mindset. With interesting anecdotes and audience participation, Elisa shows how her drive to tell stories combined with a whole lot of hard work resulted in her first published book. Best for large assemblies 5th-8th grade.

Stone Vs. Slime

Using the allegory of stone and slime, Elisa explains fixed and growth mindset. With hands on participation and anecdotes from her own life, Elisa walks students through the ways that growth mindset allowed her to become a published author. Suitable for classes and smaller groups. 5th-8th grade.

Writing Workshop

In this hands-on workshop, Elisa gives an overview of the 3 basic elements of narrative structure–Plot, Characters and Theme. With clear examples, interactive discussions and brainstorming worksheets for each element, students leave this workshop with all the tools needed to build a solid narrative.

“Elisa Stone Leahy’s visit to our school was a great success! Her presentation resonated with our scholars in meaningful ways and the ones who participated in small group workshops with her were lucky to have great discussions and some practice with their writing ideas and skills. My scholars can’t wait for her next book, which are the words every librarian loves to hear. If you have the opportunity to book Elisa Stone Leahy, I highly recommend it!” — Megan McGonigle, Librarian, Columbus Gifted Academy & Gifted and Talented District Library

“The presentation was very engaging and cool to listen to. She explained everything well and she deserves to be successful in her writing endeavors.” — Zin (Student)

“My favorite part of yesterday was the author lunch because I had a lot of fun sharing my story with a real author. the rest of it was also amazing!” — Henry (Student)

“I really enjoyed the interactive and engaging parts of Leahy’s presentation, such as when she asked for volunteers to get on the stage or when she asked questions to the whole crowd. I also appreciate the time she took to make her slides look nice.” — Clementine (Student)

“I really enjoyed the author visit. The author talked about her writing process and what it felt like to write the stories and create worlds, and I completely related to it. She talked about how she used the writing to express herself and as a creative outlet for her ideas. I really enjoyed her advice about developing strong characters.” — Djuna (Student)

“We can’t say enough about Elisa Stone Leahy’s visit to our Middle School. From her meticulous preparation beforehand to her interactive presentation and thoughtfully prepared writers’ workshop, it was a fantastic experience! Elisa knows how to keep middle schoolers engaged—for an entire hour! Many teachers popped in to watch and ended up staying for the whole presentation. They were blown away by how engaging it was and declared it was our best author visit ever. We are already looking forward to the next book.” — Marianne Crowley, 8th Grade English/Language Arts and Humanities at Wellington School

“Elisa Stone Leahy provides such an exceptional, inclusive author visit that does not disappoint! Whether engaging with students or staff, she has the ability to transcend her audience into the world that she creates for them. She is not only a masterful storyteller in the pages of a book, but in real life, too. She breathes fresh life into the traditional author/book talk in the most captivating of ways; as a result, every audience member feels connected and invested in what Stone-Leahy has to share. Furthermore, she not only takes the time, but she makes the time, to provide personal writing sessions with students. Even students that are not innately creative writers, they find themselves excitedly crafting characters and storylines that they are eager to bring to life, too. Simply said, Elisa Stone Leahy is the gold standard when it comes to author visits! The icing on the cake is that she has the most real, relevant book to share with students. Her timely exploration of Wendy’s world in which secrets are explored and exposed is relatable and responsive to the world in which today’s teens live. Readers will not only find a friend in Wendy and her own allies, but they will a friend and ally in Stone Leahy, too.” — Lauren Noble, Gifted Intervention Specialist, Dominion Middle School & Ridgeview Middle School

Resources for Teachers Link