AG Ford is a New York Times bestselling children’s book illustrator and recipient of two NAACP Image Awards. He has illustrated many award-winning books for children, including Under the Same Sun by Sharon Robinson, Goal by Mina Javaherbin, and the New York Times bestseller Barack by Jonah Winter. He lives in Frisco, Texas.

Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney have made an outstanding contribution to the field of children’s literature both as individuals and as a team. Between them, they have published more than 70 children’s books that have received the highest awards and accolades, including Caldecott Honors, Coretta Scott King Honors, NAACP Image Award nominations, and the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award, to name a few. To learn more, please visit andreadavispinkney.net and brianpinkney.net.

Christian Robinson was born in Hollywood, California. He grew up in a small one-bedroom apartment with his brother, two cousins, aunt, and grandmother. Drawing became a way to make space for himself and to create the kind of world he wanted to see. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts and would later work with the Sesame Workshop and Pixar Animation Studios before becoming an illustrator of books for children. His books include Gaston and Antoinette, written by Kelly DiPucchio, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Last Stop on Market Street, written by Matt de la Peña, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, and the Newbery Medal. He presently lives in northern California with his rescue greyhound Baldwin and several houseplants. He looks forward to one day seeing the aurora borealis. Visit him online at TheArtofFun.com.

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 several 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.

Dung (pronounced Dzung) Ho is a New York Times bestselling illustrator based in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Her work focuses on children’s books, including Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, Eyes that Speak to the Stars, and Eyes that Weave the World’s Wonders. She also loves to draw interesting characters with unique personalities. When she’s not drawing, she enjoys cooking, watching movies, walking, and tending to her plants. Visit her at dungho.me. 

Erin Robinson is a Fashion Designer by trade but also a trained fine artist from Parsons School of Design and the Corcoran School of Art. Her daydreamy, magical imagination is inspired by travel, color, texture, the feminine shape and the many shades and coifs of Brooklyn. She currently splits her time between New York City and Washington, D.C. Find her at brooklyndolly.com and on Instagram @brooklyndolly. 

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.

Joowon Oh is originally from South Korea. She earned a BFA in illustration and an MFA in illustration as visual essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She works primarily in watercolor with a little bit of gouache and paper collage. Our Favorite Day is her picture book debut.

Joy Hwang Ruiz is an illustrator and artist who started @momisdrawing on Instagram to capture the magic of new parenthood. Her illustrations are inspired by the love and fleeting, funny moments families share, and celebrate Joy’s passion for diversity. She is the illustrator of the picture book, Every Little Letter. As an immigrant to the U.S. whose family was separated when she was a young woman, Joy knows first-hand the importance of tearing down walls. She lives with her family in Southern California.

Illustrator Lala Watkins graduated with a BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design. She lives in sunny Florida.

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. 

Nadia Alam is an illustrator, and first generation Bangladeshi-Canadian. She is an avid daydreamer and meanderer who draws to capture the world as she sees it. Awake, Asleep is her first picture book. She lives in Toronto with her husband, two lovely kids, and a dog named Momo. Visit her online at nadiaalamillustration.com.

Niña Mata is an artist and New York Times bestselling illustrator. Her books include She’s Got This, I Absolutely, Positively Love My Spots, I Promise (by LeBron James), and the Ty’s Travels series, including the Geisel Honor Book Ty’s Travels: Zip, Zoom! Visit her at ninamata.com.

Rafael López grew up in Mexico City, where he was immersed in the rich cultural heritage and color of street life. He is the illustrator of many vibrant picture books, including the acclaimed Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle and Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell. He has received the Pura Belpré and Américas Awards multiple times. Rafael López also designs and creates community-based murals nationwide. He divides his time between San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and San Diego, California. Visit him at rafaellopez.com.

Sean Qualls finds inspiration everywhere, from old buildings, nature, fairy tales, black memorabilia, and outsider art to cave paintings, African imagery, mythology, music, and his native Brooklyn. He is the co-illustrator, with his wife, Selina Alko, of the celebrated picture books Two Friends by Dean Robbins and The Case for Loving by Selina Alko. Other acclaimed picture books he has illustrated include Giant Steps to Change the World by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Little Cloud and Lady Wind by Toni Morrison and her son Slade, Dizzy by Jonah Winter, and Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Carole Boston Weatherford, for which he received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his family. Visit him online at seanqualls.com.

Born in Xalapa, Mexico, where she currently resides, New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Yuyi Morales lived for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she still maintains close relations with booksellers and librarians. Professional storyteller, dancer, choreographer, puppeteer, and artist, she has won the prestigious Pura Belpré Award for Illustration six times, for Dreamers (2019), Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book (2003), Los Gatos Black on Halloween (2006), Just in Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book (2008), Niño Wrestles the World (2013), and Viva Frida (2014), also a Caldecott Honor Book. Her book Bright Star garnered a 2022 Pura Belpré Honor.