Love, Jessica

Love, Jessica

Jessica Love is the award winning author & illustrator of Julián Is a Mermaid, Julián at the Wedding and A Bed of Stars. She studied Visual Art at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and then Drama at The Juilliard School. She lived New York City for 15 years making plays, and now she lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and son, and makes books.

Awards

Stonewall Book Award, Bologna Opera Prima Award, Klauss Flugge Prize, Ezra Jack Keats Honor

3 Fun Facts

1. I worked as a professional actor for 15 years, and my first time in the Hudson Valley was to play Rosalind at the the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and I fell in love with it here.
2. I love swimming more than almost anything else in the world.
3. My favorite flavor is sour.

Budhos, Marina

Budhos, Marina

Marina Budhos is the author of several books for young adults and adults. Her newest novel, We Are All We Have, was a Best Kirkus Book of 2022. Among her prior books are Watched, which received a Walter Award and an Asian Pacific American Honor, The Long Ride, Tell Us We’re Home, and Ask Me No Questions, recipient of numerous honors. She has also published the adult novels The Professor of Light and House of Waiting, and three works of nonfiction, including her co-authored books with husband Marc Aronson, Sugar Changed the World, an LA Times Book Finalist and Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro & The Invention of Modern Photojournalism, both of which were YALSA Nonfiction Finalists. Her books have been published in several countries and her short work has appeared in publications such as The Daily Beast, LitHub, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, The Nation, Travel & Leisure, the Los Angeles Times, and in anthologies. She has received an NEA Literature Fellowship, a Rona Jaffe Award for Women Writers, three Fellowships from the New Jersey Council on the Arts, and has been a Fulbright Scholar to India. She is a professor emerita at William Paterson University. She frequently gives talks around the country and abroad. https://marinabudhos.com

Awards

Watched​ received an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature YA Honor (APALA) and a Walter Award Honor (We Need Diverse Books), ​Eyes of the World​ was a 2017 YALSA Finalist in Nonfiction. I have received an NEA Literature Fellowship, a Rona Jaffe Award for Women Writers, three Fellowships from the New Jersey Council on the Arts, and have been a Fulbright Scholar to India.

3 Fun Facts

1. My sister-in-law’s brother has operated the Howard Hotel and Ca’Mea for years.
2. I was the first girl to wear pants at my elementary school once it was allowed (first day it was announced).
3. I once hitchhiked with a college roommate from the state of Washington to San Francisco, much to the horror of my young adult sons.

Kaufman, Daniel Newell

Kaufman, Daniel Newell

DANIEL NEWELL KAUFMAN is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker whose documentaries and short films have played at SXSW, Tribeca and Cannes Lions film festivals. Raised in both Los Angeles and Vermont, Daniel’s life is driven by a deep curiosity and love of people. This is Daniel’s debut picture book. He lives with his wife and co-author, Esmé Shapiro, in an old farmhouse in the Hudson Valley.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’ve driven back and forth across the United States 10 times–once through a super storm.
2. My childhood cat lived to be 25 and used to ride on the back of my childhood dog.
3. The secret ingredient in my family’s chicken stew recipe is black currant jelly.

Call, Kirsti

Call, Kirsti

Kirsti Call is an award winning author who co-hosts the Picture Book Look Podcast and hosts the Coaching for Creatives podcast as a therapist trained life coach. Kirsti loves teaching writing workshops, and visiting schools! She is the author of Mootilda’s Bad Mood (Little Bee), Cow Says Meow (Clarion) Cold Turkey (Little Brown), The Big Screen (Little Simon) and Smarty Ants (Capstone, 2023). Kirstine has an MSW from Boston College and is represented by Charlotte Wenger at Prospect Agency. www.kirsticall.com

Awards

THE BIG SCREAM, (2022, Little Simon) Julia Howard Award, Praiseworthy award.

3 Fun Facts

1. I have lived in Brazil and Japan.
2. I have five children.
3. I have a song for each of my books on youtube.

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.)

Taylor, Sophia

Taylor, Sophia

Sophie Taylor is an indie children’s author based in upstate New York. When she’s not writing stories, she’s feeding her chickens, cuddling her cat, and teaching kids, teens, and creative adults how to write and create worlds of wonder. https://heymoonpress.com/

Awards

For “What Cats Dream About” a book I put out last year. Amazon Best Seller, Top 10 in cat books during first month.
Currently: Top 100 in Baby & Toddler Bedtime & Dreaming Books, Top 100 in Children’s Cat Books (Kindle Store), Top 100 in Cat, Dog & Animal Humor

3 Fun Facts

1. My furry friend is a cat named Dorian Wilde Gray, who’s as mysterious and adventurous as his literary namesakes.
2. When I was a kid growing up in Texas, I dazzled audiences with my trick horseback riding skills, like a modern-day cowboy!
3. When I’m not spinning tales for kids, I’m delving into the realms of science fiction and fantasy, conjuring up worlds filled with intergalactic adventures and magical quests.

Clark, Yvette

Clark, Yvette

Yvette Clark is the author of the middle-grade novels Glitter Gets Everywhere and The House Swap, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. A Brit by birth and a New Yorker by design, Yvette lives in Manhattan with her husband, children, and a small blue cat. www.yvetteclark.com

Awards

Glitter Gets Everywhere: Booklist Starred Review. The House Swap: Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and OwlCrate Junior March Selection.

3 Fun Facts

1. I organize my bookshelves by color.
2. I decided aged ten to move from England to New York after reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. I moved here fifteen years later!
3. I love to trampoline.

Wulfekotte, Dana

Wulfekotte, Dana

Dana Wulfekotte is a children’s book author-illustrator and freelance animator. She is the author and illustrator of Peanut Gets Fed Up, and the illustrator of The Remember Balloons, a Schneider Family Honor Award book. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in New Jersey, and currently lives in New York with her husband and two rabbits. http://www.danawulfekotte.com

Awards

Schneider Family Honor, JLG Selection, Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Picture Book

3 Fun Facts

1. I have two pet rabbits.
2. I was born in South Korea and came to the US as a baby.
3. When I was a kid I had a pet iguana named Humphrey.

Hooper, Don P.

Hooper, Don P.

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.

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