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Ellen Hopkins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 14 young adult novels, 2 middle-grade novels, and 4 adult novels, with over 5.2 million books in print. Known for her gripping verse novels that tackle complex themes like addiction, mental health, and abuse. Hopkins' works are widely celebrated but also frequently censored. Four of her novels (Crank, Burned, Glass, and Tricks) were name...

Matt de la Peña is the New York Times Bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning author of seven young adult novels (including Mexican WhiteBoy, We Were Here, and Superman: Dawnbreaker) and six picture books (including Milo Imagines the World and Last Stop on Market Street). In 2016 he was awarded the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State Universit...

Rita Williams-Garcia, born April 13, 1957, is an award-winning author celebrated for her novels for children and young adults. With a career spanning decades, Rita is best known for her ability to weave vivid stories that shine a light on African American history and experiences, particularly through the lens of young protagonists. Her critically acclaimed book One Crazy Summer (2010) earned the N...

Graci Kim is the diplomat turned award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of the Gifted Clans series: The Last Fallen Star, The Last Fallen Moon, and The Last Fallen Realm. Featured in TIME Magazine for Kids, and dubbed a “sparkling yarn” by Entertainment Weekly, the Korean mythology-inspired trilogy is being translated into multiple languages. The Last Fallen Star was named a 2021 Good...

Pam Muñoz Ryan , celebrated 2024 ALA Children’s Literature Legacy Award recipient, has authored over forty books that resonate with themes of hope, heritage, and identity, including Esperanza Rising, Echo, Becoming Naomi León, and Mañanaland. Her work has earned numerous honors, such as the Newbery Honor, Kirkus Prize, and multiple Pura Belpré Medals, establishing her as a vital voice in multicult...

Timothy Patrick McCarthy is an award-winning scholar, educator, and human rights activist who has taught at Harvard since 1998. At HGSE, he is Core Faculty in the Equity and Opportunity Foundations Curriculum, Online Master’s Program in Education Leadership, and Higher Education Concentration. At HKS, where he was the first openly gay faculty member and still teaches the school’s only course on LG...

Cynthia Leitich Smith is an acclaimed, NYTimes bestselling author of more than 20 books, winner of the 2024 Southern Miss Medallion for Outstanding Contributions in Children’s Literature, 2024 Texas Literary Hall of Fame inductee, and the 2021 NSK Neustadt Laureate. Reading Rockets named her to its list of 100 Children’s Authors and Illustrators Everyone Should Know. Her titles include HEARTS UNBR...

Cynthia Voigt is an acclaimed American author best known for her contributions to young adult and children’s literature. Born on February 25, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts, Voigt has crafted a prolific career centered around stories that often explore themes of family, resilience, and personal growth. She is perhaps most famous for her "Tillerman Cycle," a series that includes the Newbery Medal-w...

M. T. Anderson has written stories for adults, picture books for children, adventure novels for young readers, graphic novel adaptations of ancient French tales, and several books for older readers (both teens and adults). His satirical book Feed was a Finalist for the National Book Award and was the winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize. Both Time Magazine and National Public Radio have included it...

https://planetwordmuseum.org Ann B. Friedman, the visionary Founder and CEO of Planet Word. Ann led the transformation of the historic Franklin School into the museum’s innovative home. Her passion for literacy has been a constant throughout her life, fueled by her love of reading, early roles as a copy editor and translator, and her impactful work as a beginning reading and writing teacher in Mon...

Gregory Maguire, born in Albany, New York, is an acclaimed American novelist best known for "Wicked," "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister," and numerous other works for adults and children. After his mother died during his birth, he was placed in an orphanage until age two when his father, having remarried, reclaimed him. Maguire has three half-siblings from his father's second marriage. Educated i...

Jerry Spinelli, born on February 1, 1941, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, is a renowned author specializing in children's novels that explore themes of adolescence and early adulthood. Among his celebrated works are STARGIRL, MANAIC MAGEE, and WRINGER. Notably, Spinelli received the prestigious Newbery Medal for MANIAC MAGEE and a Newbery Honor for WRINGER, recognizing his exceptional contribution to...

Eric A. Kimmel, a celebrated author of over 150 children’s books, is renowned for his contributions to children’s literature. He has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the 1990 Caldecott Honor for "Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins," five National Jewish Book Awards, the Sydney Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 from the Association of Jewish Libraries, and the 2024...

Jonathan Evison (born September 27, 1968) is an acclaimed American author known for his emotionally resonant and humor-filled novels. His notable works include "All About Lulu," "West of Here," "The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving," "This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!," "Lawn Boy," "Legends of the North Cascades," and "Small World." Evison's debut novel won the Washington State Book Award, and...

Ray Pun is a librarian based in the Bay Area, CA, and an active member of APALA and CALA. He co-edited "Wikipedia and Academic Libraries: A Global Project" and has been elected as the 2024-2025 president-elect of ALA. He has 17 years of library experience and has worked at prestigious institutions such as Stanford University and NYU Shanghai. Pun holds a Doctorate in Education, a Master of Library...

Lyn Miller-Lachmann a distinguished author, educator, and translator. She holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and served as the editor of the journal MultiCultural Review for 16 years. Additionally, she earned a Masters in Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2012. Lyn's passion for teachin...

Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books for kids who wonder, too. A former news reporter, her award-winning titles include picture books like Over and Under the Snow and How to Write a Story; novels like All the Answers, Breakout, and Chirp; engaging nonfiction like The Next President and Tracking Pythons; the Fergus and Zeke easy reader series, the popular Ranger in Time chapter boo...

Emily Knox (she/her) is an associate professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She earned her Ph. D. from the doctoral program at the Rutgers University School of Communication & Information, her master’s in library and information science from the iSchool at Illinois, and holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Smith College and an A.M. in t...

Lynne Rae Perkins, is an American author and illustrator renowned for her 2006, novel "Criss Cross" which garnered the prestigious Newbery Medal, cementing her status as a luminary in children's literature. After completing her Bachelor of Arts at Pennsylvania State University in 1978 and her Master of Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1981, Perkins embarked on a journey that traver...

Originating from the heartland of America, Jeff Smith developed his passion for cartooning through a blend of comic strips, comic books, and animated TV shows during his upbringing. Following a stint of four years crafting comic strips for the student newspaper at Ohio State, Smith embarked on a creative journey by co-founding the Character Builders animation studio in 1986. Five years later, he e...

Anthony D Romero, born in New York City, spent his early years in a Bronx public housing project. His parents, Demetrio and Coralie Romero, migrated from Puerto Rico with limited education and employment opportunities. Witnessing his father's struggle against workplace discrimination ignited Anthony's determination to pursue a legal career advocating for the marginalized. After the family's move t...

David Small, originally from Detroit, discovered his artistic talent early on, earning the moniker "the kid who could draw good" among his peers in school. Surprisingly, he never envisioned a career in art, as it came effortlessly to him. However, at the age of 21, a pivotal moment came when a friend pointed out that the doodles David made on telephone pads surpassed his written work. This revelat...

Rex Ogle is an award-winning author and the writer of nearly a hundred children’s books, comics, graphic novels, and memoirs—most notably Free Lunch, which won the ALA/YALSA award for Excellence in Non-Fiction. He has written under several pseudonyms, including Trey King and Honest Lee, but is currently focused on reimagining classic literature as modern or fantastical graphic novels as REY TERCIE...

John Rocco is a #1 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 t...

Lois Lowry embarked on her literary journey as a freelance journalist before transitioning into writing for children and young adults. In the 1970s, after submitting a short story to Redbook magazine from a child's perspective, an editor at Houghton Mifflin encouraged her to delve into children's literature. This advice led to the publication of her debut novel, "A Summer to Die" in 1977, inspired...