“NOT LIKE THE OTHER GIRLS” by Martha Brockenbrough
Martha Brockenbrough is a Kirkus Prize finalist for her young adult novel The Game of Love and Death. She teaches at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Seattle.
“ROAR” by Jaye Robin Brown
Jaye Robin Brown has been many things in her life—jeweler, mediator, high school art teacher—but recently she’s taken the plunge into full-time writer life. She’s a Southerner at heart, by way of Alabama, then Atlanta, and for many years just outside of Asheville, but now she’s moved north to the great state of Massachusetts. Her debut novel, No Place to Fall, was released in 2014, followed by a companion novella, Will’s Story Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, released in 2016, was named a 2016 Kirkus Best Book and a 2017 ALA Rainbow List Book. www.jayerobinbrown.com
“CHILLED MONKEY BRAINS” by Sona Charaipotra
Sona Charaipotra is a journalist and author who’s written for everyone from the New York Times to Teen Vogue. She’s the co-author of the dance drama Tiny Pretty Things and its sequel, Shiny Broken Pieces, as well as the forthcoming The Rumor Game. The co-founder of CAKE Literary, a boutique book packager with a decidedly diverse bent, she spends much of her time poking plot holes in TV shows like Riverdale—for work, of course. She’s a proud We Need Diverse Books team member. Find her on Twitter @sona_c, or on the web at www.sonacharaipotra.com.
“EASTER OFFERING” by Brandy Colbert
Brandy Colbert is the author of the young adult novels Pointe, Little & Lion, and Finding Yvonne, as well as short stories and personal essays published in various anthologies. She lives and writes in Los Angeles. Visit her at brandycolbert.com.
“MYTH MAKING: IN THE WAKE OF HARDSHIP” by Somaiya Daud
Somaiya Daud was born in a Midwestern city and spent a large part of her childhood and adolescence moving around. Like most writers, she started writing when she was young and never really stopped. Her love of all things books propelled her to get a degree in English literature (specializing in the medieval and early modern), and while she worked on her master’s degree, she doubled as a bookseller in the children’s department at Politics and Prose. Determined to remain in school for as long as possible, she packed her bags in 2014 and moved to the West Coast to pursue a doctoral degree in English literature. Now she’s preparing to write a dissertation on Victorians, rocks, race, and the environment. Mirage is her debut, and is due from Flatiron Books and Hodder & Stoughton in spring 2018.
“UNEXPECTED PURSUITS: EMBRACING MY INDIGENEITY & CREATIVITY” by Christine Day
Christine Day (Upper Skagit) is a writer and filmmaker. She earned her master’s degree at the University of Washington, with a thesis on extinct dog breeds, ancient weaving technologies, and the resilience of Native culture bearers. Her debut middle-grade novel—the manuscript she refused to give up on—is due from HarperCollins in 2020. Christine lives in the Coast Salish region.
“TRUMPS AND TRUNCHBULLS” by Alexandra Duncan
Alexandra Duncan is an author and librarian. Her YA sci-fi novels Salvage (2014), Sound (2015), and Blight (2017) are available from Greenwillow Books. Her short fiction has appeared in several Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy anthologies and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. She loves learning new things, from pie-baking and leatherworking to gardening and rolling sushi. She lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina with her husband and two monstrous cats. www.alexandra-duncan.com
“TINY BATTLES” by Maurene Goo
Maurene Goo grew up in a Los Angeles suburb surrounded by floral wallpaper and piles of books. She is the author of the YA novels Since You Asked, I Believe in a Thing Called Love, and The Way You Make Me Feel. She also has very strong feelings about tacos and houseplants. You can find her in Los Angeles with her husband and two cats—one weird, one even more weird. maurenegoo.com
“DREAMS DEFERRED AND OTHER EXPLOSIONS”by Ilene (I.W.) Gregorio
Ilene Wong (I.W.) Gregorio is a practicing surgeon by day, masked avenging YA writer by night. After getting her MD, she did her residency at Stanford, where she met the intersex patient who inspired her debut novel, None of the Above (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins), which was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, a Publishers Weekly Flying Start, and optioned for a TV series by Lifetime. She is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. Find her online at www.iwgregorio.com, and on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and Instagram at @iwgregorio.
“AN ACCIDENTAL ACTIVIST” by Ellen Hopkins
Ellen Hopkins is a poet and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction books for children, thirteen bestselling young adult novels, and three novels for adult readers, with more on the way. She lives near Carson City, Nevada, with her extended family, two dogs, one rescue cat, four aquariums, and two ponds (not pounds!) of fish.
“THESE WORDS ARE MINE” by Stephanie Kuehnert
Stephanie Kuehnert is the author of the young adult novels I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone and Ballads of Suburbia. She has been a contributing writer to Rookie magazine since its launch in 2011. Her essays for Rookie and her teenage years making punk-rock, feminist zines inspired her next project: a zine-style YA memoir that will be published by Dutton Young Readers. She lives in Seattle, Washington, and can be found online at stephaniekuehnert.com.
“CHANGING CONSTELLATIONS” by Nina LaCour
Nina LaCour is the nationally bestselling and award-winning author of five young adult novels: Hold Still, The Disenchantments, Everything Leads to You, You Know Me Well (cowritten with David Levithan), and, most recently, We Are Okay. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her wife and daughter.
“HER HAIR WAS NOT OF GOLD” by Anna-Marie McLemore
Anna-Marie McLemore was born in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and taught by her family to hear la llorona in the Santa Ana winds. She is the author of The Weight of Feathers, a finalist for the 2016 William C. Morris YA Debut Award, and 2017 Stonewall Honor Book When the Moon Was Ours, which was long-listed for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. Her latest is Wild Beauty, and Blanca & Roja is forthcoming in fall of 2018.
“MY IMMIGRANT AMERICAN DREAM” by Sandhya Menon
Sandhya Menon is the author of When Dimple Met Rishi (Simon Pulse/MAY 30, 2017) and a second YA contemporary coming in the summer of 2018. She was born and raised in India on a steady diet of Bollywood movies and street food, and pretty much blames this upbringing for her obsession with happily-ever-afters, bad dance moves, and pani puri. Sandhya currently lives in Colorado, where she’s on a mission to (gently) coerce her family to watch all 3,220 Bollywood movies she claims as her favorite. Visit her on the web at www.sandhyamenon.com.
“IN OUR GENES” by Hannah Moskowitz
Hannah Moskowitz is the author of over a dozen works for children and young adults, including Teeth, Break (a 2010 YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults), and Gone, Gone, Gone (a 2014 Stonewall Honor Book). She’s also the co-author of Gena/Finn with Kat Helgeson. For more, see hannahmoskowitz.com.
“FAT AND LOUD” by Julie Murphy
Julie Murphy is the #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Ramona Blue, Dumplin’, and Side Effects May Vary. She lives in North Texas with her husband, who loves her; her dog, who adores her; and her cats, who tolerate her. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading, traveling, watching movies so bad they’re good, or hunting down the perfect slice of pizza. Before writing full-time, she held numerous jobs, such as wedding dress consultant, failed barista, and ultimately librarian. Learn more about her at www.juliemurphywrites.com.
“FINDING MY FEMINISM” by Amy Reed
Amy Reed is the author of the contemporary young adult novels Beautiful, Clean, Crazy, Over You, Damaged, Invincible, Unforgiveable, and most recently, The Nowhere Girls, about three misfit girls who start an underground movement to avenge the rape of a classmate and overthrow the misogynist culture at their school. She is a feminist, mother, and quadruple Virgo who enjoys running, making lists, and wandering around the mountains of Western North Carolina where she lives. You can find her online at www.amyreedfiction.com.
“THE ONE WHO DEFINES ME” by Aisha Saeed
Aisha Saeed is an author, mama, lawyer, educator, and maker and drinker of chai, as well as a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books. She is also the author of the young adult novel Written in the Stars (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books, 2015) and the forthcoming middle grade novel Amal Unbound, to be published in 2018 with Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books. You can follow her on Twitter at @aishacs.
“IS SOMETHING BOTHERING YOU?” by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Jenny Torres Sanchez is a full-time writer and former English teacher. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived on the border of two worlds her whole life. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and their children. For more information about Jenny and her books, visit her online at jennytorressanchez.com or on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @jetchez.
“WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT SILENCE” by Amber Smith
Amber Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be and The Last to Let Go. Fueled by a lifelong passion for the arts, story, and creative expression, Amber graduated from art school with a BFA in painting and went on to earn her master’s degree in art history. She grew up in Buffalo, New York, and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her two dogs. Visit her online at AmberSmithAuthor.com.
“BLACK GIRL, BECOMING” by Tracy Deonn Walker
Tracy Deonn Walker is a North Carolina-based author, scholar, and geektivist. Her master’s degree culminated in a thesis and stage play about Superman, West African myths, and secret identities. Fueled by caffeine and a passion for storytelling, Tracy has written and directed theater, produced video games, and taught elementary, middle grade, and undergraduate students. Tracy moderates and speaks on panels about fiction and media representation at science fiction and fantasy conventions. In 2017 she was named a fellow in Duke University’s Story Lab and was invited to contribute to Women Write About Comics. Tracy can be found at tracydeonnwalker.com.