Erica Martin was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She enjoys making a difference in the world through political activism, reading, and writing. When she’s not reading and writing, you can find her editing, baking pies, or re-watching “The Vampire Diaries” for the millionth time. Her nonfiction poetry collection, AND WE RISE: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN POEMS, is available now from Viking Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House.