S. K. Ali is the author of the young adult novels, Saints and Misfits, a 2018 William C. Morris award finalist, and Love From A to Z. She’s also the co-author of a picture book, The Proudest Blue, written with team USA Olympic fencer, Ibtihaj Muhammad, releasing in the fall of 2019. Not to be limited to picture books and teen novels, she’s co-editing an upcoming middle grade anthology featuring joyful tales, including her own donut-ilicious story. She lives in Toronto with her family and a very talkative cat named Yeti.
Adi Alsaid is the author of several young adult novels, including Let’s Get Lost, Never Always Sometimes, and North of Happy. He was born and raised in Mexico City and is currently traveling the world with his wife, spilling things on himself in exciting new places.
Elsie Chapman grew up in Prince George, Canada, and has a degree in English literature from the University of British Columbia. She is the author of the young adult novels Dualed, Divided, and Along the Indigo, and the middle grade novel All the Ways Home, and co-editor of A Thousand Beginnings and Endings. She currently lives in Tokyo, Japan, with her family. You can visit her online at elsiechapman.com.
Rin wrote obscure manuals for complicated computer programs, talked people out of their money at event shows, and did many other terrible things. She now writes about ghosts and fantastic worlds but is still sometimes mistaken for a revenant. She is the author of The Girl From the Well, its sequel, The Suffering, and The Bone Witch trilogy. Find her at rinchupeco.com.
Jay Coles is a young adult author, a composer for various music publishers, and a graduate of Vincennes University and Ball State University. His debut novel, Tyler Johnson was Here, which has been featured in EW, Teen Vogue, Bustle, BuzzFeed, the New York Times, and other publications, is based on true events in his life and was inspired by Black Lives Matter and police brutality in America. He currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can find more information at jaycoleswriter.com.
Sara Farizan is the author of the young adult novels If You Could Be Mine, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel, and Here to Stay. She also has short stories in the anthologies Fresh Ink, All Out: The No-Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages, and The Radical Element: 12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutantes & Other Dauntless Girls. She lives in Massachusetts and thanks you for reading her work.
Sangu Mandanna was four years old when an elephant chased her down a forest road and she decided to write her first story about it. Seventeen years and many, many manuscripts later, she signed her first book deal. She is now the author of The Lost Girl, A Spark of White Fire, Color Outside the Lines, and more. Sangu lives in Norwich, a city in the east of England, with her husband and kids.
Anna-Marie McLemore learned how to cook from her mother, abuela, and tías. She writes fairy tales and magical realism, and watches “The Great British Bake Off” while trying to perfect her pan dulce. She is the author of The Weight of Feathers, a finalist for the 2016 William C. Morris Debut Award; Stonewall Honor Book When the Moon Was Ours, which was longlisted for the National Book Award; Wild Beauty, a Kirkus Best Book of 2018; and Blanca & Roja, a Junior Library Guild Selection.
Sandhya Menon is the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi; From Twinkle, with Love; and There’s Something About Sweetie. A full-time dog-servant and part-time writer, she makes her home in the foggy mountains of Colorado. Visit her online at SandhyaMenon.com.
Phoebe North, a graduate of the University of Florida’s MFA program in poetry, is the critically acclaimed author of Starglass and Starbreak. A new novel will be forthcoming from HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray in 2020. Writing from a home in the Hudson Valley, North also enjoys gardening, spending time with family, listening to obscure music on outdated formats, and fighting off the fear of death by curating an astonishingly comprehensive social media presence. Find North on Instagram at www.instagram.com/phoebenorthauthor.
Karuna Riazi holds a BA in English Literature from Hofstra University, and is an online diversity advocate, blogger, and educator. Her work has been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, Book Riot, and Teen Vogue, among others. Karuna is fond of tea, Korean dramas, and baking new delectable treats for friends and family to relish. She is the author of The Gauntlet, which released in March 2017 from Simon and Schuster’s Salaam Reads imprint, and its upcoming companion The Battle.
Caroline Tung Richmond is the award-winning author of The Only Thing to Fear, The Darkest Hour, and Live In Infamy. She’s also the program director of We Need Diverse Books, a nonprofit that promotes diversity in children’s literature. A self-proclaimed history nerd and cookie connoisseur, Caroline lives with her family in the Washington, DC, area. Visit her online at www.carolinetrichmond.com.
Rebecca Roanhorse is a Nebula and Hugo Award-winning speculative fiction writer and the recipient of the 2018 Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her novel Trail of Lightning (Book #1 in the Sixth World Series, Saga Press) is available now. Book #2 Storm of Locusts is out April 2019. Her middle grade novel Race to the Sun (Rick Riordan Presents) drops Fall 2019. Her short fiction can be found in Apex Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, and the New Suns anthology. She lives in Northern New Mexico with her husband, daughter, and pug. Find more at rebeccaroanhorse.com and on Twitter at @RoanhorseBex.