Alice B. McGinty is the award-winning author of more than 50 books for children. Her picture book, A Story for Small Bear was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2020. Alice was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has lived in New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Maryland, Georgia, Indiana, and Illinois. She currently resides in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

Angela H. Dale lives in Maryland, where she writes poetry and prose and hopes for snow days. This is her debut picture book.  

Anne Wynter is originally from Houston, Texas, and currently lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, their two children, and a cat. In addition to writing children’s books, she’s written more than a dozen short plays that have been produced around the country. Anne earned a degree in drama from Washington University in St. Louis, received a certificate in short story writing from the University of Chicago, and studied writing for children at the Writing Barn. Everybody in the Red Brick Building is her debut. To learn more about Anne or to say hello, visit www.annewynter.com.

Carole Lindstrom is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of literature for young people, including the Caldecott Medal–winning We Are Water Protectors illustrated by Michaela Goade and My Powerful Hair, illustrated by Steph Littlebird. She is Anishinaabe/Métis and an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe. She is honored to write books that allow her to shine a light on her beautiful people and their strength and resilience. Her tribal homelands are in Belcourt, North Dakota, but she was born and raised in Nebraska and currently makes her home in Maryland. 

When Dav Pilkey was a kid, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. He was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Luckily, Dav loved to draw and make up stories, so he spent his time in the hallway creating his own original comic books—the very first adventures of Dog Man and Captain Underpants. 

Since then, Dav has written and illustrated a number of bestselling and award-winning children’s books, including the Caldecott Honor book The Paperboy. His Captain Underpants series and Dog Man graphic novels have sold millions of copies worldwide and have been translated into many languages. 

Dav lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, but his writing is inspired by children and adults around the world. His stories explore universally positive themes that celebrate the triumph of the good-hearted. 

Gracey Zhang is an illustrator and animator with a love of storytelling and verse. She is the author and illustrator of Lala’s Words and the illustrator of The Big Bath House, Nigel and the Moon, and The Upside Down Hat. She was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, and received her degree in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Gracey is now based in Brooklyn, New York, where she can be found window watching from the train when she’s not scribbling away at her desk. You can visit her at graceyzhang.com. 

Hyewon Yum is the author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Not Little, written by Maya Myers. Her book Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten! received the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.

Joanna Ho is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners; Eyes that Speak to the Stars; Eyes that Weave the World’s Wonders; Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma; One Day; Say My Name; and The Silence that Binds Us, which received the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Young Adult Honor. She has been an English teacher, a dean, a vice principal, and a professional development mastermind. Her passion for equity in books and education is matched only by her love of homemade chocolate chip cookies, outdoor adventures, and dance parties with her kids. Visit her at joannahowrites.com. 

Joyce Wan runs her own stationery and gift business, Wanart, which sells products in thousands of boutiques, museum shops, and gift stores worldwide. She is also the author and illustrator of many children’s books, including You Are My Cupcake, We Belong Together, Are You My Mommy?, You Are My Magical Unicorn, and Peek-a-Boo Farm. Joyce lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey, but you can visit her at wanart.com. 

Julie Flett is a Cree-Métis author, illustrator, and artist who has received numerous awards for her books, including the New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award, two Governor General’s Awards, the American Indian Youth Literature Award, and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Her books have been selected for Best of the Year lists by The New York Times, Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, The Horn Book, School Library Journal, The Globe and Mail, and Kirkus Reviews. Her critically acclaimed picture books Birdsong, We All Play, and Still This Love Goes On are also published by Greystone Kids. Flett lives in Victoria, Canada.

Kyle Lukoff is a National Book Award finalist and the Newbery and Stonewall Award-winning author of multiple books for young readers, including When Aidan Became a Brother, Call Me Max, and Too Bright to See. Kyle spent eight years as an elementary school librarian, but now he writes full time, assists in sensitivity readings and consultations, and presents on children’s and youth literature all across the country. He got hired at a bookstore when he was sixteen, which means he’s been working at the intersection of books and people for well over half his life. He lives in Philadelphia. Visit him online at kylelukoff.com.

Lucy Ruth Cummins is an author, illustrator, and art director of children’s books. She was happily paired with Jean Reidy for both Truman, which was named a New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2019, and Sylvie. She is also the author-illustrator of Stumpkin, Vampenguin, Dalmartian: A Mars Rover’s Story, Our Pool, and A Hungry Lion, or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals. Lucy has swum in creeks, streams, gorges, rivers, swimming holes, pools (above- and in-ground), lakes (both Great and Finger), decorative fountains, and oceans. Her very favorite place to swim, however, is at her community pool in Brooklyn with her sons and her neighbors. 

Mina Javaherbin was born in Iran and immigrated to the U.S.A. long ago. She is fluent in both Persian and English. She now lives near a beach in Southern California with her husband and two children. This is her second picture book based on a poem by Rumi. Visit Mina at www.minajavaherbin.com. 

Nikki Giovanni is a Grammy-nominated American poet, activist, and author who has written many books of poetry for children and adults. She is the author of Ego-tripping and Other Poems for Young People, I Am Loved, and Rosa, a Caldecott Honor book. She has received some twenty-five honorary degrees, was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, and has been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. She lives in Blacksburg, Virginia, where she is a University Distinguished Professor of poetry at Virginia Tech.

Rachel Katstaller is an author-illustrator from El Salvador. She graduated with a design degree from the Escuela de Comunicación Mónica Herrera and has illustrated several books including A Portrait In Poems: The Storied Life of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas and Ada Lovelace and the Number-Crunching Machine. When Rachel isn’t drawing up new picture books, she is busy skateboarding with friends. To learn more, visit her at rachelkatstaller.com. 

Saki Tanaka is a Mexican-Japanese author-illustrator who grew up in different parts of the world. This transient upbringing made her foster friendships without a common language in imaginative ways; through gestured games, mimed plays, and drawings that transcended words and worlds to give her a sense of belonging. You can now find Saki in Denver, Colorado, inspired by aspen-inhabited mountains and vaporwave skies. When she’s not painting new portals to magical realms, she’s connecting with other dreamers through a shared affinity for synchronicities, tear-inducing guffaws, and spontaneous dance parties. She’d love to hear how you spark connections with kindred spirits. Visit her at sakitales.com and let her know! 

Wendy Wan-Long Shang is the author of The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, which was awarded the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature; The Way Home Looks Now, an Amelia Bloomer Project List selection and a CCBC Choices List selection; The Secret Battle of Evan Pao, which received multiple starred reviews; Sydney Taylor Honor Book This Is Just a Test, which she cowrote with Madelyn Rosenberg; and Not Your All-American Girl, a Tablet Magazine Best Children’s Book, also cowritten with Madelyn Rosenberg. She lives with her family in the suburbs of Washington, DC.