Torrey Maldonado was born and raised in Brooklyn’s Red Hook. He has taught in New York City public schools for over 25 years and his fast-paced, compelling stories are inspired by his and his students’ experiences. His popular young readers novels include What Lane?, which won many starred reviews and was cited by Oprah Daily and the NY Times for being essential to discuss racism and allyship; Tight won the Christopher Award, was an ALA Notable Book, and an NPR and Washington Post Best Book of the Year; and his first novel, Secret Saturdays, has stayed in print for over ten years. Learn more at torreymaldonado.com or connect on social media @torreymaldonado.

Awards
What Lane? is a Kirkus Best Book, a School Library Journal Best Book, a Washington Post Best Book, an NPR Best Book.
Tight is a Christopher Award winner, a Washington Post Best Book, and an ALA Notable Book.
Secret Saturdays is an ALA “Quick Pick”.

3 Fun Facts

1. I got hooked on comic books in the third grade. By middle school, I had almost two hundred collectibles. I also had a cat named Snow White and she peed on and scratched my collection down to fifty comics. So I secretly wish I had the super power of pausing and redirecting pets to pee in the right places freeze to prevent people from losing things we love.
2. I’m pretty sure that, wherever I am, no one in a five mile radius can beat me in Scrabble OR no one in a five mile radius would enjoy losing as much as me in Scrabble. Visit my table to play me and even if I lose, it will be fun to play!
3. As a teen, for about a month, I taped my ears to my head with black electrical tape because I thought that would flatten my then big ears. It didn’t work. Good thing that my skull in high school grew and caught up with my ears.