Claire Legrand used to be a musician until she realized she couldn’t stop thinking about the stories in her head. Now she is a New York Times bestselling author of darkly magical books. Her first novel is THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, one of the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing in 2012. She is also the author of THE YEAR OF SHADOWS, a ghost story for middle grade readers; and WINTERSPELL, a young adult re-telling of The Nutcracker. SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS, her middle grade novel about mental illness, family secrets, and the power of storytelling, is a 2017 Edgar Award Nominee. Claire’s latest middle grade novel, FOXHEART, is a classic fantasy-adventure and a 2016 Junior Library Guild selection. The companion novel, THORNLIGHT, was a Kids' Indie Next Pick in 2021. She is one of the four authors behind THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, an anthology of dark middle grade short fiction that was a Junior Library Guild selection, a Bank Street Best Book, and among the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing in 2014. Her bestselling Empirium Trilogy consists of epic fantasy novels FURYBORN, KINGSBANE, and LIGHTBRINGER. Her young adult horror novel SAWKILL GIRLS received five starred reviews. It was also a 2018 Bram Stoker Award finalist and a 2019 Lambda Literary Award finalist. Her latest novel, EXTASIA, is a young adult horror novel described as "The Handmaid's Tale meets The Craft" and was a Kids' Indie Next Pick. Her adult debut, book 1 of THE MIDDLEMIST TRILOGY, releases in spring 2023.

From: http://stevesheinkin.com/about/ I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and my family lived in Mississippi and Colorado before moving back to New York and settling in the suburbs north of New York City. As a kid my favorite books were action stories and outdoor adventures: sea stories, searches for buried treasure, sharks eating people… that kind of thing. Probably my all-time favorite was a book called Mutiny on the Bounty, a novel based on the true story of a famous mutiny aboard a British ship in the late 1700s. I went to Syracuse University and studied communications and international relations. The highlight of those years was a summer I spent in Central America, where I worked on a documentary on the streets of Nicaragua. After college I moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for an environmental group called the National Audubon Society. Then, when my brother Ari graduated from college a few years later, we decided to move to Austin, Texas, and make movies together. We lived like paupers in a house with a hole in the floor where bugs crawled in. We wrote some screenplays, and in 1995 made our own feature film, a comedy called A More Perfect Union (filing pictured below), about four young guys who decide to secede from the Union and declare their rented house to be an independent nation. We were sure it was going to be a huge hit; actually we ended up deep in debt. After that I moved to Brooklyn and decided to find some way to make a living as a writer. I wrote short stories, screenplays, and worked on a comic called The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey. In 2006, after literally hundreds of rejections, my first Rabbi Harvey graphic novel was finally published. Meanwhile, I started working for an educational publishing company, just for the money. We’d hire people to write history textbooks, and they’d send in their writing, and it was my job to check facts and make little edits to clarify the text. Once in a while I was given the chance to write little pieces of textbooks, like one-page biographies or skills lessons. “Understanding Bar Graphs” was one of my early works. The editors noticed that my writing was pretty good. They started giving me less editing to do, and more writing. Gradually, I began writing chapters for textbooks, and that turned into my full-time job. All the while, I kept working on my own writing projects. In 2008 I wrote my last textbook. I walked away, and shall never return. My first non-textbook history book was King George: What Was His Problem? – full of all the stories about the American Revolution that I was never allowed to put into textbooks. But looking back, I actually feel pretty lucky to have spent all those years writing textbooks. It forced me to write every day, which is great practice. And I collected hundreds of stories that I can’t wait to tell. These days, I live with my wife, Rachel, and our two young kids in Saratoga Springs, New York. We’re right down the road from the Saratoga National Historical Park, the site of Benedict Arnold’s greatest – and last – victory in an American uniform. But that’s not why I moved here. Honestly.

A serious book addict, Bruce wanted to be a children's book author since he was in 4th grade (right after he got over wanting to be a pirate, Tarzan, and Daniel Boone). Today he's the author-illustrator of over 70 seriously funny books for kids, so some dreams do come true. The Malted Falcon, one of his Chet Gecko Mysteries series, was an Edgar Award finalist, and Murder, My Tweet won a Little D Award for Juvenile Humor Writing. Bruce has written everything from picture books and easy readers, to graphic novels and novels. Bruce's recent Monstertown Mysteries series blends horror and humor, based on his childhood love of monster movies. His other series include Class Pets, about the secret lives of classroom pets, and the forthcoming Outerspace Mystery Pizza Club books, due in 2024. A Fulbright Scholar (in Storytelling), Bruce is also a popular speaker, both in the U.S. and internationally. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and knuckleheaded dog Riley. When he's not writing or reading, you may find him hiking, kickboxing, or singing with a latin-jazz band called Mezcal Martini.

"I was born in Queens, N.Y, on April 13, 1957. My mother, Miss Essie, named me 'NoMo' immediately after my birth. Although I was her last child, I took my time making my appearance. I like to believe I was dreaming up a good story and wouldn’t budge until I was finished. Even now, my daughters call me 'Pokey Mom', because I slow poke around when they want to go-go-go. "I learned to read early, and was aware of events going on as I grew up in the 60s. In the midst of real events, I daydreamed and wrote stories. Writing stories for young people is my passion and my mission. Teens will read. They hunger for stories that engage them and reflect their images and experiences." Author of four award winning novels, Rita Williams-Garcia continues to break new ground in young people's literature. Known for their realistic portrayal of teens of color, Williams-Garcia's works have been recognized by the Coretta Scott King Award Committee, PEN Norma Klein, American Library Association, and Parents' Choice, among others. She recently served on the National Book Award Committee for Young People's Literature and is on faculty at Vermont College MFA Writing for Children and Young People.

Karen Cushman was born in Chicago, Illinois. She entered Stanford University on a scholarship in 1959 and graduated with degrees in Greek and English. She later earned master’s degrees in human behavior and museum studies. For eleven years she was an adjunct professor in the Museum Studies Department at John F. Kennedy University before resigning in 1996 to write full-time. She lives on Vashon Island, Washington with her husband, Philip. (source: http://karencushman.com/about/bio.html & http://www.arnenixoncenter.org/findin...)

Kelly Starling Lyons is an award-winning author whose 17 titles for children span easy readers, picture books, chapter books, fiction, nonfiction, and series. For more than a decade, Lyons has been creating inspiring books that center Black heroes, celebrate family, friendship and heritage and show all children the storyteller they hold inside. Her acclaimed titles include Going Down Home with Daddy, Sing a Song: How Lift Every Voice & Sing Inspired Generations, Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon, Tiara's Hat Parade and the Jada Jones chapter book series. Her new easy reader series with illustrator Nina Mata, Ty's Travels, debuts September 1. The first book, All Aboard, earned a starred Kirkus review. Lyons counts Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, Best of the Year and state award lists, Junior Library Guild selections, a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor among the accolades her books have received. Two of her books, Hope's Gift and Going Down Home with Daddy, have represented the states of North Carolina and Georgia, respectively, at the National Book Festival's Parade of the States. Lyons is a founding member of The Brown Bookshelf, a team dedicated to raising awareness of Black children's book creators, a Raleigh-Durham co-ambassador for The Authors Guild, and a teaching artist who visits schools, libraries, conferences and festivals nationwide. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and children where she facilitates a book club for boys that salutes literary treasures from Black authors and illustrators of today and the past. Learn more at www.kellystarlinglyons.com.

Vince Evans started his artistic training by copying his big brother Nate’s drawings. Vince has worked for numerous comic and book companies, and has won the Spectrum Silver Award for excellence in comic art. Existing solely on a diet of instant coffee and kidney beans, Vince lives with his beautiful wife Laurie and has two dogs that have been trained to beg editors to extend deadlines and bark when he falls asleep while working.

Nathan Hale is the New York Times best-selling author/illustrator of the Hazardous Tales series, as well as many picture books including Yellowbelly and Plum go to School, the Twelve Bots of Christmas and The Devil You Know. He is the illustrator of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel, Calamity Jack. He also illustrated Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody, The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas, Animal House and many others. (He is not the author of Extinction Earth or the other apocalyptic titles listed. That's a different Nathan Hale. If someone with "librarian" status would disambiguate those titles for me, I'd appreciate it.) Learn more at www.spacestationnathan.blogspot.com

Kate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books. Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online. Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com Find Kate on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner ...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner

Holly Goldberg Sloan was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and spent her childhood living in California, the Netherlands, Istanbul, Washington, DC, and Oregon (where she graduated from high school). She wrote the screenplay for Angels in the Outfield and directed The Big Green, as well as a number of other successful family feature films. The mother of two sons, Holly lives with her husband (the writer/illustrator Gary Rosen) in Santa Monica, California. I'll Be There was her debut novel. Her next book, Counting By 7s, was Amazon's best novel of the year for middle grade. Her book Just Call My Name is a follow up to I'll Be There and takes place several months after the ending of the first novel. Appleblossom the Possum was written by Sloan and Illustrated by Rosen and comes out of Sloan's love for Charlotte's Web. Her next novel will be published in January of 2017 from Dial/Penguin Random House.

Coming in April 2021 from Philomel, Trouble in the Stars! It's a middle grade science fiction adventure about a shapeshifter kid. And Dragonfell is out in paperback in April 2020. Happy reading! My website: www.sarah-prineas.com

Adam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He was neither the smart one (older brother) or the cute one (younger sister), but he was the one who could draw. He took a lot of art classes as a kid, trying to learn to draw better, and started painting when he was 11. And later in life he was drawn down to Tucson in order to hone his skills, get a BFA from the University of Arizona, and meet his physicist wife Marie (who is both the smart and cute one). Adam is nearsighted, bad at all sports, learning to play the theremin, and usually in need of a shave. He can carry a tune, if you don't mind the tune getting dropped and stepped on occasionally. He never remembers anyone's name until he's heard it at least three times. He likes animals, spacemen, Mexican food, Ethiopian food, monsters, puppets, comic books, 19th century art, skeletons, bugs, and robots. Garlic and crosses are useless against Adam. Sunlight has been shown to be at least moderately effective. A silver bullet does the trick. Pretty much any bullet, really.

Lisa Yee has written over 20 novels. Her most recent book, Maizy Chen's Last Chance, is about a fifth-generation Chinese American girl, and is a National Book Award Finalist, Newbery Honor, and the Asian Pacific American Children's Literature Award winner. Lisa's debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, won the prestigious Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Other books include Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, Absolutely Maybe, and a series about a 4th grader, Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) and Bobby the Brave (Sometimes), illustrated by Dan Santat. Lisa is also the author of several American Girl books and the DC Super Hero Girls series. A Thurber House Children’s Writer-in-Residence, Lisa's books have been named a NPR Best Summer Read, Sports Illustrated Kids Hot Summer Read, and USA Today Critics’ Top Pick. Lisa lives In Western Massachusetts, but spends a lot of time in Los Angeles, especially when it's cold. Her next book, an awkward and hilarious mystery, is called The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum, and is illustrated by Dan Santat. You can visit Lisa at www.lisayee.com.

Tommy Greenwald's book GAME CHANGER has been named an Amazon Best Book Of The Month, a 2019 YALSA Top Ten Pick for Reluctant Readers, and a Junior Library Guild Premier Selection. Tommy is also the author of the CRIMEBITERS, CHARLIE JOE JACKSON and PROJECT Z series, among many other books for children. Day-job-wise, Tommy is the Co-Founder of Spotco Advertising, an entertainment advertising agency in New York City, and the lyricist and co-bookwriter of JOHN & JEN, an off-Broadway musical. To read woefully outdated information about Tommy, visit tommygreenwald.com. (To send an email telling him how much you liked whatever book it was that you just read, holla at tommy@tommygreenwald.com.)

Jacqueline West on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jacquel... Jacqueline's blog: http://jacquelinewest.com/blog/