Don P. Hooper is a writer and filmmaker of Jamaican heritage (and a programmer in a former life). His short story “Got Me a Jet Pack” is part of the New York Times bestselling anthology Black Boy Joy. His directing work has been featured in the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, the New York Television Film Festival (award winner), the New York City Horror Film Festival, the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival (award winner), and more. He does voice-over in video games and documentaries. True True is his debut novel. www.donphooper.com

Awards

True True received a starred review by Publisher’s Weekly, who wrote, “Hooper presents valuable lessons on the healing power of community, forgiveness, and sharing one’s truth.”
“BIPOC youth will find resonance here; privileged audiences, perhaps, need this most of all.” —School Library Journal, starred review of Audio Book.
Black Boy Joy was an instant New York Times bestseller and received 5 starred reviews.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’m a voice over actor, who has voiced several commercials.
2. I received a martial arts scholarship to college.
3. I was once part of a team that designed solar cars and made dogs play soccer.

Ellen Hagan is a writer, performer, and educator. She is the author of Don’t Call Me a Hurricane and Reckless, Glorious, Girl and the coauthor with Renée Watson of Watch Us Rise. Her poetry collections include Blooming Fiascoes, Hemisphere, and Crowned. Her work can be found in ESPN Magazine, She Walks in Beauty, and Southern Sin. Raised in Kentucky, she now lives in New York City with her family. www.ellenhagan.com • @ellenhagan

Awards

Ellen is the recipient of the 2020 New York Foundation for the Arts fellowing in poetry, the 2013 NoMAA Creative Arts Grant and received grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts.

Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many picture books and middle grade books for young readers, including ADA’S VIOLIN; ALIAS ANNA; HARBORING HOPE; THE LAST STRAW: Kids vs. Plastics; LIFEBOAT 12; and SHAKING THINGS UP: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World. LIFEBOAT 5, a companion book to the acclaimed LIFEBOAT 12, will be published in Fall 2024. Susan lives with her family and six-year-old pup in Connecticut and enjoys spending her summers on the water—swimming, kayaking, and sailing with her husband along the New England coast. susanhoodbooks.com

Awards

Susan is the 2024 recipient of the Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for HARBORING HOPE, an award given annually for “a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration to young people.” Susan has also been awarded an E. B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book Honor, a Mathical Honor Award, two Christopher Awards, the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, the Golden Kite Award, and a second Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award. ALIAS ANNA was named a 2023 Sydney Taylor Notable Book and was a finalist for the 2023 National Jewish Book Awards.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’ve had lunch with Big Bird.
2. Sailing on the Atlantic Ocean in a 38-foot boat, we suddenly found ourselves with no engine, lights, or navigation. We had to find Bermuda using the stars and handheld sextant.
3. My great-great-grandfather was a lighthouse keeper.

Veera Hiranandani is the award-winning author of several books for young people. Her most recent book, a companion to her Newbery Honor-winning THE NIGHT DIARY, is called AMIL AND THE AFTER. She’s also the author of HOW TO FIND WHAT YOU’RE NOT LOOKING FOR, which received the 2022 Sydney Taylor Book Award among other accolades. She earned her MFA in fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College. A former editor at Simon & Schuster, she’s now a faculty member with the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at The Vermont College of Fine Arts. www.veerahiranandani.com

Awards

A Newbery Honor, A Sydney Taylor Award, A National Jewish Book Award Finalist, The Jane Addams Award, the New York Historical Society Children’s History Book Prize, a Walter Dean Myers Honor, and the Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’m from Fairfield County, CT.
2. I LOVE cats.
3. I used to think I’d grow up to be a painter or an actor.