Marcella Pixley is the author of three highly praised books for young adults that have received multiple starred reviews, including Ready to Fall. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize for poetry and earned a master’s from Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. She teaches writing to middle-schoolers in Massachusetts, where she lives with her family.

Faith Erin Hicks is a writer and artist in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Her graphic novels include the Nameless City trilogy, Friends with Boys, Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong (with Prudence Shen), and the Eisner Award–winning The Adventures of Superhero Girl.

Jordan Sonnenblick is the author of the acclaimed Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie, Notes From The Midnight Driver, Zen And The Art Of Faking It, and the sequel to Drums called After Ever After.

He lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with his wife and two children.

James Preller is the author of many acclaimed books for children including Six Innings, Bystander, The Fall, and the Scary Tales series. Jigsaw Jones, his beloved early chapter book series, has been popular among beginning readers and is now back in print for a new generation.

James Preller lives in Delmar, New York, with his family. He maintains a blog on writing and travels to classrooms around the country. 

Kekla Magoon is the author of several books for young adults, including 37 Things I Love, the Coretta Scott King Honor/John Steptoe Award-winning The Rock and the River, and the Coretta Scott King Honor book How It Went Down. She has also contributed to the anthology Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love. She lives in Vermont. keklamagoon.com

Heather Demetrios is the author of several critically acclaimed novels including Something Real, I'll Meet You There, and Bad Romance.

She is a recipient of the PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award and has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

When she isn't traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, she lives with her husband in New York City. Originally from Los Angeles, she now calls the East Coast home.