Gary D. Schmidt is an American children's writer of nonfiction books and young adult novels, including two Newbery Honor books and one Printz Honor award.

He lives on a farm in Michigan and has six children. He is a Professor of English at Calvin College.

Leah Henderson writes for young readers of all ages, and her books have been named a Children's Africana Book Awards Notable and a Bank Street Best Book.

Leah holds an MFA in writing and is on the faculty of Spalding University's graduate writing program. She resides in Washington, D.C.

Pablo Cartaya is an award-winning author, screenwriter, speaker, and occasional actor. He is the Pura Belpre Honor Book Award winner for The Epic Fail for Arturo Zamora; an Audie Finalist for Audiobook of the Year in the Middle Grade Category (for which he narrated); an ALSC notable book of the year for Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish; and the 2020 Schneider Family Book Award Honor winner for his middle grade novel, Each Tiny Spark.

His newest title, The Last Beekeeper, contemplates a future where bees are central to a re-building world. His novels focus on the themes of family, community, culture, and the environment. He lives in the hyphens between his Cuban and American identities and with his familia in Miami.

New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2020 ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, the 2017 Children's Literature Legacy Award, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Her distinguished works include the much-honored books Garvey's Choice, ALA Notable book Southwest Sunrise, Coretta Scott King Award winner Bronx Masquerade, and five Coretta Scott King Author Honor books, Printz and Siebert Honor winner Ordinary Hazards, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor One Last Word, its companion Legacy:Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance, and New York Times bestseller Kamala Harris:Rooted in Justice. Creator of the popular Meet Danitra Brown, Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel, Bedtime for Sweet Creatures, and Off to See the Sea, Nikki Grimes lives in Corona, California.

Remy Lai writes and draws for kids. She was born in Indonesia, grew up in Singapore and currently lives in Brisbane, Australia.

She lives with her two dogs, who sometimes scare her by barking at nothing in the corners of rooms.

Remy is also the award-winning creator of Pie in the Sky, Fly on the Wall, Pawcasso, Ghost Book and the Surviving the Wild

Kyle Lukoff is the author of the Stonewall Award winner When Aidan Became a Brother and A Storytelling of Ravens. While becoming a writer, he worked as a bookseller and school librarian. He lives in New York City, and hopes you're having a nice day.

Meg Medina is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist.

She is also the author of award-winning YA novels and the picture books Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was a Pura Belpré Author and Illustrator Award Honor Book, and Tía Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award.

The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Daniel Nayeri was born in Iran and spent a couple of years as a refugee before immigrating to Oklahoma at age eight with his family. He is the publisher of Odd Dot, an imprint of Macmillan, making him one of the youngest publishers in the industry. He has served on the CBC diversity committee and the CBC panel committee.

Linda Sue Park, recipient of the Newbery Medal for A Single Shard, is the bestselling author of many books for young readers, including picture books, poetry, and historical and contemporary fiction.

Born in Illinois, Ms. Park has also lived in California, England, and Ireland. She and her husband, a journalist, now live in Rochester, New York, and have two grown children.

Mitali Perkins has written many novels for young readers, including Rickshaw Girl, a NYPL Top 100 Book; Bamboo People, an ALA Top 10 YA novel; and You Bring the Distant Near, which was a Walter Honor Book, a National Book Award Nominee, and received six starred reviews.

Mitali was born in Kolkata, India, and has lived in Bangladesh, India, England, Thailand, Mexico, Cameroon, and Ghana. She currently resides in San Francisco.

Ibi Zoboi was born in Haiti, and holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her writing has been published in The New York Times Book Review, and The Rumpus, among others. She is the author of American Street, a US National Book Award finalist. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and three children.