Kate DiCamillo, the newly named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2014–2015, says about stories, “When we read together, we connect. Together, we see the world. Together, we see on…
Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and New York Times Bestselling author of 21 books, including The Crossover, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to A…
Ryan Hall is an American long distance runner. He won the marathon at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials and placed tenth in the Olympic marathon in Beijing. He holds the U.S. record in the half ma…
Jason Reynolds is an American author of novels and poetry for young adult and middle-grade audience. After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, Jason Reynolds moved t…
Vicki Johnson is a children's book author, and a Lambda Literary Fellow. Her debut picture book Molly's Tuxedo garnered multiple accolades: 2024 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for C…
Carol Gordon Ekster’s first published children’s book, Where Am I Sleeping Tonight?-A Story of Divorce, Boulden Publishing, 2008, was inspired by one special former student who lived the schedule desc…
Lucy Ruth Cummins is an author, illustrator, and art director. She is the executive art director of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers where she has worked for two decades on picture books, midd…
Rebecca E. Hirsch is the award-winning author of more than 80 science and nature books for children. She is a botanist-turned-writer whose books have won the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature, th…
Jolene Gutiérrez grew up on a farm in northeastern Colorado, surrounded by animals, plants, and history. Now, she lives with her family and a variety of animals in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. She is…
Jessica Lanan is the author and illustrator of Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider and The Fisherman and the Whale, a Colorado Book Award finalist and winner of the Bull-Bransom Awa…
Frann Preston-Gannon is the author-illustrator of several books for children. She was the first U.K. recipient of a Sendak Fellowship, and her first picture book, The Journey Home, was nominated for t…
Ever since his childhood in one of Ohio’s most haunted houses, writer director Drew Daywalt has been writing escapist fantasy and building worlds of his own. With a degree in Creative Writing, and a c…
Steve Magness is a world-renowned expert on performance, coauthor of Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success and The Passion Paradox: A Guide to …
JULIE LEUNG is an award-winning author of numerous children’s books. Her picture book, The Truth About Dragons is a Caldecott Honor and winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. By da…
Diana Murray is the author of UNICORN NIGHT (an Amazon Best Book of the Year from the bestselling UNICORN DAY series) and GOODNIGHT, VEGGIES (a Jr. Library Guild Selection), as well as many other pict…
Katie Davis Majors moved to Uganda over a decade ago with no idea that this would be the place that God chose to build her home and her family. Today, she is a wife to Benji and mom to her fourteen fa…
Jenn Bailey is an author, editor, documentarian, blue-ribbon pie baker, and eager traveler. She received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Born and raised in Rhode Island, she now calls Kansa…
Flavia Z. Drago was born and raised in Mexico City. As a child, she wanted to be a mermaid. When that didn’t happen, she began her career as a graphic designer and a children’s book illustrator. She l…
Amanda Brooks was a writer long before graduating with a journalism degree. However, it wasn't until she found her love of running that it all came together. Since 2007, she has published over 3,000 a…
