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Frost, Maddie

Frost, Maddie

Maddie Frost is the author-illustrator of the Wombats! graphic novel books, Smug Seagull, Just Be Jelly, Capybara is Friends with Everyone, and more. www.maddie-frost.com

Awards

Capybara is Friends with Everyone has been nominated for the Monarch Award. Wombats! series is JLG selection for graphic novels for early elementary plus.

3 Fun Facts

1. I wrote my first book on my lunch break while working at Barnes and Noble.
2. Madison is my full name.
3. I have two dogs and a daughter named Birdie.

Foody, Amanda

Foody, Amanda

Amanda Foody has always considered imagination to be our best attempt at magic. She is a New York Times, USA Today, and indie bestselling author of fantasy novels, including the Wilderlore series, the All of Us Villains duology, and more. You can find her on Instagram @amandafoody or www.amandafoody.com.

Awards

The Accidental Apprentice was a NYT bestseller, a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year Selection Title, and has been nominated for state awards and reading lists in four states, including the Connecticut 2023 Nutmeg Awards. It received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly. On the YA side of my career, All of Us Villains was a NYT, USA Today, and national indie bestseller, a Junior Library Gold title, and Amazon’s Best YA Book of 2021.

3 Fun Facts

1. Amanda has a Beastly companion of her own, a rambunctious orange tabby named Jelly Bean.
2. Amanda learned how to read by playing Pokemon.
3. Amanda’s favorite hobby outside of writing is cooking. (You could call her a foodie Foody.)

Freedman, Deborah

Freedman, Deborah

Deborah Freedman was an architect once-upon-a-time, but now she prefers building worlds in picturebooks. She is the author and illustrator of 11 of them, featuring protagonists that include an earthworm searching for its purpose in life, a house that dreams of its origins, and a character that is almost too shy to appear in its own book. Her stories have been translated into ten different languages, adopted in classrooms across the country, and honored with many starred reviews and awards. She daydreams and makes books in her colorful home in Connecticut.

Awards

Multiple starred reviews and state awards lists
Junior Library Guild gold standard selection
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Kirkus Best Books, Booklist Editor’s Choice
Society of Illustrators “The Original Art”
Parents’ Choice Gold Award
Crystal Kite Award
Indie Next List, Amazon Books of the Month
Best Books on Huffington Post, Buzz Feed, Chicago Public Library & NYPL
CLA Notable Books, Bank Street Books

3 Fun Facts

1. In school, I studied architecture, not illustration! But now I prefer making books for kids to buildings.
2. I live in a fantastically playful and colorful house.
3. I love meeting readers—so please stop by my table and say hello!

Ford, JR & Vanessa

Ford, JR & Vanessa

JR (he/him) and Vanessa (she/her) Ford are nationally-respected advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and specifically transgender youth. Their advocacy has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, NPR’s All Things Considered and Good Morning America. They are members of the Human Rights Campaign’s Parents for Transgender Equality Council and authors of the award-winning book, Calvin (Penguin, 2021). Vanessa is also the co-author of the upcoming book “Educate, Affirm, Include and Interrupt: Creating Spaces Where Transgender Students Thrive ( Jossey-Bass 2024).  They live with their two children, one of whom is trans, in the Boston Massachusetts area. www.jrandvanessaford.com

Awards

2022 Lambda Literary “Lammy” Award for Best Children’s /Middle Grade Book

3 Fun Facts

1. Vanessa loves public speaking
2. JR is a podcast connoisseur
3. JR and Vanessa met in 2005 and it was “love at first sight”.

Freedman, Deborah

Freedman, Deborah

Deborah Freedman was an architect once, but now prefers building worlds in picturebooks. She is the author and illustrator of, most recently, Shy, This House, Once, and CARL and the Meaning of Life. Her books have been translated into seven different languages, adopted in classrooms across the country, and honored with many starred reviews and awards. She lives in a colorful house in Connecticut, where she is always busy at work on her next books. Learn more about Deborah at www.deborahfreedman.net, and please stop by at the festival, and say hello!

Multiple starred reviews, state award nominations, “best of the year” lists —Kirkus, Bookpage, Booklist, Bank Street, Huffington Post, NY & Chicago Public Libraries, and others.

Other awards include:
Crystal Kite Awards
Parents’ Choice Award
Nerdy Book Club Awards
Amazon Books of the Month
Society of Illustrators’ Original Art
Indie Next List
Junior Library Guild

3 Fun Facts

1. I used to be an architect.
2. I have books in every room of my house.
3. I love to plant things and watch them grow, with the aid, of course, of hard-working earthworms!

Funk, Josh

Funk, Josh

B is a software engineer and the author of books like the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, How to Code a Sandcastle, Dear Unicorn, Dear Dragon, My Pet Feet, Lost in the Library, and more. For more information about Josh Funk, visit him at www.joshfunkbooks.com and on social media at @joshfunkbooks.

Awards

2023 Massachusetts Book Award Must-Read Picture Book (MY PET FEET)
2022 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Read This Next! Title (MY PET FEET)
2020 Mississippi Magnolia State Award Short List (LOST IN THE LIBRARY)
2020 Wisconsin Golden Archer Award Nominee (LOST IN THE LIBRARY)
2019 International Literacy Association (ILA) Teacher’s Choice Reading List (HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE)
2018 Smithsonian Ten Best Children’s Books (HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE)
2018-19 Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL) Show Me Readers Award Nominee (DEAR DRAGON)
2018-19 Indiana Library Federation (ILF) Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee (DEAR DRAGON)
2017-18 Maine Chickadee Award Nominee (DEAR DRAGON)
2017 Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year (DEAR DRAGON)
2017 International Literacy Association (ILA) Teacher’s Choice Reading List (DEAR DRAGON)

3 Fun Facts

1. Josh plays guitar and sings in all of the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast musical book trailers.
2. Josh has visited over 750 schools and libraries (both in-person and virtually) since 2015.
3. Josh is vegan.

Ferry, Beth

Ferry, Beth

Beth Ferry is the author of numerous picture books for children including The Scarecrow, Swashby and the Sea, and the New York Times bestseller, Stick and Stone. She lives with her family by the beach in New Jersey where she finds inspiration in the salty air. In addition to writing picture books, Beth also writes graphic novels for emerging readers. You can learn more at bethferry.com.

Awards

NY Times Bestseller, Amazon Best Book of the Year

3 Fun Facts

1.  I have a pet cactus named Henry
2. I only grow pumpkins in my garden
3. I have a bulldog named Chaucer who eats all the pumpkins I grow.

Formento, Alison Ashley

Formento, Alison Ashley

Alison Ashley Formento is the author of the new chapter book One Alien & Four Furry Tails Tales and award-winning nature picture books This Tree Counts!, This Tree, 1, 2, 3, These Bees Count!, These Seas Count!, and These Rocks Count! Her young adult novel Twigs was featured in Publisher’s Weekly as a notable new release for teen readers. Alison has written for several national publications including The New York Times, The Writer , and Parenting. She loves visiting schools and libraries and donates a portion of book proceeds to AmericanForests.org. www.alisonashleyformento.com

3 Fun Facts

1. I love to tap dance.
2. I love burnt brownies, but I don’t like ice cream.
3. I met Nelson Mandela when he first visited America after being released from prison. He was so kind and it’s something I’ll never forget.

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