Nick Pyenson is a paleontologist at the Smithsonian Institution where he studies the evolution and ecology of whales. Along with his scientific collaborators, he has named over a dozen new fossil species, discovered the richest fossil whale graveyard on the planet, and described an entirely new sensory organ in living whales. He has received the highest research awards from the Smithsonian for his work, including the Secretary’s Research Prize and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Barack Obama’s Administration. Pyenson is also a member of the Young Scientists community at the World Economic Forum, and the father of two young kids.

After living for almost a decade in the UK, Andrea is an author-illustrator currently based in a small Spanish coastal city. As a mom, Andrea knows humor is the best way to connect with kids. As an architect—and a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field—she is thrilled to share all things STEM and empower minorities to follow their dreams. As a migrant, her goal is to create stories where diversity is simply a given. As a human, she simply dreams of helping new generations build a kinder world.

She shares short comics about motherhood and her journey raising her two kids on Instagram at @parentingstorms.

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Suhasini Raj is an award winning journalist, who has worked for over a decade as an investigative journalist with Indian and international news outlets. She joined The New York Times in 2014 and has reported extensively on stories ranging from the rise of Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to how the country has reeled under the effects of Covid 19 to climate change, amongst others. Prior to her time at The New York Times, Ms. Raj worked undercover on a story that exposed a bribe-taking scheme involving eleven members of India’s Parliament. As a result of her reporting, the politicians were expelled from their positions. Ms. Raj is originally from Lucknow, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where she also attended university. She is married with one son, and enjoys classical music — and a good story!

Aimee Reid is an author with a background in education and editing. She taught high school English, Music, and Special Education before she began to work full-time as a writer. As a child, Aimee was a voracious reader and could often be found—curled in a corner, tucked in the crook of a tree limb, or crouched by a book rack in the grocery store aisle—carried away to the world of a book. Now Aimee sends her own stories out into the world. It brings her great joy to think of other children nestled on a lap or cuddled on a couch reading good books to share.

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Michael Relth is a veteran animator based in Los Angeles.

Rob Renzetti is a veteran of TV animation, whose work on Cartoon Network earned him an Emmy. He created the Nickelodeon show MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT, acted as the supervising producer for Disney’s GRAVITY FALLS, and served as executive producer on the first two seasons of Disney’s BIG CITY GREENS, as well as many other credits. He has also published four books for Disney Publishing, including the New York Times #1 Best Seller GRAVITY FALLS: JOURNAL THREE.

When he’s not writing, Rob likes to play boardgames, watch horror movies, and chase after his very naughty rabbit, Zigzag.

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Laura Resau is the author of eleven acclaimed books for young people, and two adult novels. Her children's and young adult books have won five Colorado Book Awards and spots on “best-of” booklists from Oprah, the American Library Association, and more.

Trilingual, she’s lived in Provence and Oaxaca, and studied cultural anthropology and languages. She teaches graduate creative writing at Western Colorado University. You might find her writing in her cozy vintage trailer in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she lives with her rock-hound husband, musician son, wild husky, and a hundred house plants.

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Raegan Revord is an American actor and author who played Missy Cooper on Young Sheldon for all seven seasons (2017–2024).

Jen and Kate, also known as Kaiju, a couple of comic artists working together to create projects close to their hearts. They are SVA graduates and debuted with Chromatic Press in 2014 with The Ring of Saturn. Their next work, Mahou Josei Chimaka, won a DINKy award in March of 2016. Their short comic Inhabitant of Another Planet, was also nominated for a DINKy the following year. They’re currently working on their YA webcomic series Novae and a middle grade duology called Haven and the Fallen Giants.

Ex-graphic designer, Laurier The Fox is a trans activist, illustrator, and graphic novel writer. He draws and addresses mainly social and political subjects close to feminism, LGBTQIAP+ issues, anti-racism, ableism, etc. His first graphic novel ReconnaiTrans was published by Éditions Lapin in 2021. He also illustrated and did the sensitivity reading for the children’s book Je m’appelle Julie (On ne compte pas pour du beurre, 2022)

Jennifer’s endless curiosity has taken her from Philadelphia to Frankfurt and has led to careers in the U.S. Foreign Service, secondary education, finance, editing, audio description for television, and copywriting. Throughout all the changes in locales and jobs, writing was one constant. The other was her husband, whom she met in Germany while on her first tour as a foreign service officer.

Jennifer’s poetry, short stories, and novels draw heavily from her many interests and hobbies—with a particular focus on birding and astronomy. She’s passionate about expanding young people’s horizons and imaginations as well as promoting racial harmony over division. Now a resident of Maryland, Jennifer writes in a small upper-floor room overlooking her bird feeders. She also enjoys hiking, crocheting, and following the latest news from NASA. 

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Danielle Ridolfi is a picturebook author-illustrator with an MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture from the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. Her debut picture book, When the Dark Clouds Come, was published by Quill Tree Books in October 2025. Danielle writes and illustrates picture books for children about the natural world and our equally complex emotional landscape that encourage quiet observation, discovery, and reflection. She uses collage and printmaking in her work and is interested in the ways these methods can connect readers with tangible objects, memories, and places. You can often find pressed plants, photographs, and bits of ephemera in her work, and all of them have a story.

Danielle is also an instructor at Washington University in St. Louis where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses about picture book illustration and children’s publishing and often writes about children's illustration and visual culture. She was the 2024 recipient of the Ezra Jack Keats & Kerlan Memorial Fellowship from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. When she is not in the classroom or the studio, you can find Danielle browsing antique stores, rehabbing her 1902 Victorian home, quilting, or camping in the Missouri Ozarks. Danielle lives in Belleville, Illinois with her partner Eugene.

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Florence Rivières is an author, script and gamewriter. They navigate within various forms and genres in literature, and wrote the script for Tu n’auras pas mon silence, a graphic novel published by Marabulles in 2024.

A former fashion editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, Roberts is an artist, illustrator, photographer, and stylist whose work also appears in Tatler, Italian Vogue, and other international publications.

Jodi Rodgers is a qualified sexologist, counsellor, and special-education teacher with 30 years’ experience working within the education, disability, and sexuality fields. She is featured as the relationship specialist on Love on the Spectrum, Netflix’s hit docuseries that follows autistic people on their search for love. With her unique combination of qualifications and experience, Jodi has developed counseling and training programs for neurologically diverse individuals and their support networks. Her private practice, Birds and Bees, helps neurodivergent people learn about the complex areas of sexuality and relationships and, even more fundamentally, how to create love and connection.

Kim Rogers is the author of Just Like Grandma,  winner of the 2024 Charlotte Zolotow Award, 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor for Writer, illustrated by Julie Flett; A Letter for Bob, winner of the 2024 American Indian Youth Literature Award, 2024 Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title, illustrated by Jonathan Nelson; and I Am Osage: How Clarence Tinker became the First Native American Major General, illustrated by Bobby Von Martin, all with HarperCollins/Heartdrum. She is a contributor to Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids (Heartdrum 2021). The cover, illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt, was inspired by Jessie, the protagonist in her short story, “Flying Together.” Her poem, “What is a Powwow” is also included. Kim is an enrolled member of Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and is a member of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Much of her current writing highlights her Wichita heritage. She lives with her family on her tribe’s ancestral homelands in Oklahoma.

A novelist, playwright, and screenwriter, Rudnick has written three books and frequently writes for The New Yorker. His articles and essays have also appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and Spy. His screenplays include InandOut and Addams Family Values, and his plays include I Hate Hamlet. Using the pseudonym Libby Gelman-Waxner, Rudnick wrote film criticism for Premiere magazine.

Katheryn Russell-Brown is a children’s book author, Professor of Law, and Director of the Race and Crime Center for Justice at the University of Florida. She is the author of the picture book biographies Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, illustrated by Frank Morrison, which received the Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustration, the Eureka! Honor Award, and was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature; A Voice Named Aretha, illustrated by Laura Freeman, which was named a Best Book of the Year by The Brown Bookshelf; and She Was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, which won the 2021 NAACP Image Award and was named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and The Chicago Public Library, and included in the Rise: A Feminist Book Project List. Katheryn was born in New York City and grew up in Oakland, California. She lives in Gainesville, Florida.

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Geo Rutherford is an artist, professor, and TikTok sensation who is known for her work educating viewers on the science of hydrology.

Aminah Mae Safi is the author of four novels, including Tell Me How You Really Feel (Feiwel & Friends) and the forthcoming Travelers Along the Way: a Robin Hood Remix (Feiwel & Friends, 2022). She’s an erstwhile art historian, a fan of Cholula on popcorn, and an un-ironic lover of the Fast and the Furious franchise. Her writing has been featured on Bustle and Salon and her award-winning short stories can be found in Fresh Ink (Crown Books) and the forthcoming Freshman Orientation (Candlewick Press, 2023).

As a child, Jacob Sager Weinstein could turn his feet completely backwards, then juggle. Nowadays, his joints are much less flexible, but he can still manage the juggling part. Other accomplishments include two Writers' Guild of America award nominations and one win. He has written for film, TV, radio, and print outlets including HBO, the BBC, The New Yorker, and The Onion.  

His books include the middle grade novel Hyacinth and the Secrets Beneath, the picture books Lyric Mckerrigan, Secret Librarian and What Rosa Brought, and the non-fiction works How to Remember Everything and Be Happier Now. He lives in London with his wife and kids.

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Rob Sanders is a teacher who writes and a writer who teaches. He is known for his funny and fierce fiction and nonfiction picture books and is recognized as one of the pioneers in the arena of LGBTQ+ literary nonfiction picture books. 

A native of Springfield, Missouri, he has lived in Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee. After earning a B.S. in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Religious Education, Rob worked for fifteen years in children’s religious educational publishing as a writer, educational consultant, trainer, editor, editorial group manager, and product developer.

In 2006, Rob moved to Florida and began working as an elementary school teacher. Soon he was serving as a district writing trainer and resource teacher. But he spent most of his career teaching fourth graders about books and words and reading and writing. Rob now writes full time. 

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Anca Sandu Budisan was born in eastern Romania. At age two, her grandmother “discovered” her talent for drawing perfect circles, unofficially appointing her the family artist. In school, drawing became not just a passion but a way to navigate her shyness—a strategy that still works today.

Anca earned her MA in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art in the UK. She is the author-illustrator of Churchill’s Tale of Tails, along with other books featuring pigs, friendly monsters, sheep, gnus, shrews, and quirky birds.

In addition to her work in children's books, Anca has worked in design and animation, and still enjoys being involved in both—especially for the creative collaboration and sense of community they bring.

She now lives in Beaverton, Oregon, with her husband and their gray cat, Mango. She’s currently working on her next book, The Home We Dreamed, to be published by Quill Tree Books in 2026.

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Michelle Schusterman is the author of over a dozen critically acclaimed novels for middle grade and young adult readers.

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Kelly Rice Schmitt is a mom in STEM writing for curious kids of all ages! She loves getting little humans excited about BIG ideas and believes that children are often far more capable than grown-ups assume. A former energy trader, Kelly is an advocate for girls in STEM and business. Combining a love of writing with her STEAM background, Kelly creates books to inspire the next generation of leaders and innovators.

Kelly studied Finance, Chinese, and English at the University of Notre Dame (Go Irish!) where she also sang and performed in musicals. Her award-winning picture books include, I Ship, a Science Friday 2023 Best STEM book for Kids and 2023 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner; I Fuel, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Award winner, and I TRUCK, which received a Booklist starred review. Kelly lives in North Carolina with her family and many piles of books, and can be found on social media at @krschmittwrites.

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Award-winning author Elizabeth Shreeve writes children’s books that celebrate the history and diversity of life on Earth. Elizabeth grew up on the Atlantic Coast in a family of scientists and storytellers. She majored in geology at Harvard College, where she studied with renowned scientists Stephen Jay Gould and E.O. Wilson and snuck into art history classes whenever possible. While at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Elizabeth worked at the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis in Turkey and fell in love with the wonders of the ancient world. She went on to a career in urban design and now writes full-time, aiming for stories that spark curiosity and engage young readers to each other and to the natural world. When not visiting schools or researching a new book, Elizabeth lives in northern California with her family, including Hector the PaleoDog. Visit her at https://elizabethshreeve.com/, YouTube: Elizabeth Shreeve Books, How Now Booking, and @ShreeveBooks.

Kaitlin M Sikes is a mother, pediatric nurse practitioner, and lifelong learner. She writes poetry and lyrical children’s books, both fiction and nonfiction. She grew up on a small island in Florida and spent her free time writing stories, making potions, and cracking open coconuts to see what was inside. As an adult, she was drawn to medical science and received her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Florida. Having a family of her own reintroduced her to the wonders of nature. She gravitates towards stories that illuminate the invisible tapestry woven between every rock, plant, animal, and human being. She has a particular interest in reaching neurodiverse readers. She can usually be found in her backyard, listening for the whisper of inspiration, and inviting the wild edges in.

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Katie Slivensky is an enthusiastic science presenter and the critically acclaimed author of middle grade sci-fi novels, THE COUNTDOWN CONSPIRACY and THE SEISMIC SEVEN, and natural history themed picture books, THIS WOLF WAS DIFFERENT, illustrated by Hannah Salyer, and I, ROCK, illustrated by Steph Stilwell. She is a professional science educator who has worked in zoos and museums since age eleven. Her love of learning has resulted in a lifetime of adventures, including helping separate fighting rhinos, falling down a cliff in search of fossils, flying an astronaut through the solar system (the astronaut was real, the solar system was a simulation), raising a stranded baby mouse, creating million-volt lightning bolts, and handling feisty alligators. She is a firm believer that science and adventure are for everyone, and that kids have a lot to teach adults about how to take care of our world.

Katie Slivensky is an enthusiastic science presenter and the critically acclaimed author of middle grade sci-fi novels, The Countdown Conspiracy and The Seismic Seven, and natural history themed picture books, This Wolf Was Different, illustrated by Hannah Salyer, and I, Rock, illustrated by Steph Stilwell. She is a professional science educator who has worked in zoos and museums since age eleven. Her love of learning has resulted in a lifetime of adventures, including helping separate fighting rhinos, falling down a cliff in search of fossils, flying an astronaut through the solar system (the astronaut was real, the solar system was a simulation), raising a stranded baby mouse, creating million-volt lightning bolts, and handling feisty alligators. She is a firm believer that science and adventure are for everyone, and that kids have a lot to teach adults about how to take care of our world.

Maya Soetoro-Ng is the Director of Community Outreach and Global Learning for the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. She holds a Masters degree in Secondary Education from NYU and a PhD in Multicultural Education from the University of Hawaii. Her first picture book, The New York Times bestselling Ladder to the Moon (Candlewick), was inspired by her young daughter Suhaila’s questions about her grandmother Ann Dunham, the mother of Maya and of our forty-fourth president, Barack Obama. Maya is an advocate for community service and peace education. Her debut young adult novel is being published by Candlewick.

Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. She was a Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. Currently, Anna lives south of Boston with her family and teaches courses on writing and children’s literature. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time reading, daydreaming, and challenging unicorns to games of hopscotch. She is the author of over thirty books for young readers, including the novels Clique Here and The Wonder of Wildflowers; the picture books Beast in Show and My Cousin’s Mermaid; and the Once Upon a Fairy Tale chapter book series.

Leslie Staub is a children’s book author and illustrator from New Orleans. An accomplished artist, her work has been exhibited nationwide. She loves animals and forests and drawing and reading and writing and making up stories. She didn't always love reading and writing because she has dyslexia.

Leslie works from her studio in the country with her dog, rabbit, and all the wild creatures who live in the woods.

Caren Stelson is the author of works for children and young adults. Caren has had a long career in education, as a teacher, writer-in-residence, and freelance writer. After receiving her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University in 2009, Caren decided it was time to write the stories that needed her attention. Accolades for her books include a Robert Sibert Honor Award, placement on the longlist for the National Book Award, and the Jane Addams Book Award.

Caren and her husband Kim have two grown children. They split their time between home in Minneapolis and the small town of Lanesboro.

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Isaiah Stephens is a freelance illustrator and animator located in Lowell, MA. He studied Media Arts and Animation at the New England Institute of Art, and has illustrated book jackets for the Italian translation of The Hunger Games, the novel The Devil Came East, and others.

Nancy Stone writes for humans of all ages. Her short fiction and verse for adults have appeared in many literary journals; her debut middle grade novel, GLOW, is forthcoming from Marble Press in 2026.

Annaliese Stoney is an award-winning illustrator and author based in leafy-green Wiltshire, UK. She specialises in creating characters and stories with humour and heart.  

“I love finding (and drawing!) the joy in everyday moments. I’m inspired by the natural world, people-watching and the hilarious things my children say and do.“

Her experience as an abstract painter brings texture and richness to her whimsical line-work, creating a unique, playful style with depth.

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Kara Storti knew she wanted to be a writer when she decided to skip her junior prom to attend the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in Middlebury, Vermont. In the years following she spent most of her free time writing short stories, novellas, and poems, and composing pop songs. In 2006 she graduated from the University of Southern Maine with an MFA in Creative Writing, where she fell in love with writing novels for young adults. Kara has been a singer, songwriter, pianist, and flautist since she was a child and has performed throughout the world. She grew up in upstate New York and now resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

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Melanie Sumrow received her undergraduate degree in Religious Studies and has maintained a long-term interest in studying social issues. She also holds a Juris Doctorate and has practiced both criminal and civil law for over sixteen years, with many of the criminal cases involving teenagers.

Ellen Surrey is a Los Angeles based illustrator whose colorful work blends her love of mid-century design and vintage children’s books. Reminiscent of the classic Little Golden Book series, Ellen’s work generates feelings of nostalgia while also being contemporary.

Ellen’s work has appeared in such publications as The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Los Angeles Times. She is the illustrator of several children’s books including THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU AN ARTIST and DOLLY!

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Jessie is a recovering lawyer living in Toronto with her wife and two cats. She writes SFF with an emphasis on queer joy, telling stories full of magic, adventure, and, of course, kissing.

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Kon Tan was raised in The Bronx, and from an early age he was obsessed with dinosaurs, monster movies, and superheroes. Unfortunately, one day he grew up, but he was lucky to find work as a teacher, bookseller, and animator. He is afraid of the ocean but proud to have conquered his fear of heights and riding a bike. He promises himself he will eventually learn how to swim. You can see more of his art on his website www.KonsComics.com or follow him on Instagram @KonsComics.

Belinda Tan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Literature and Anthropology and a Master’s in Education. She lives in Singapore.

Ellen Tarlow writes stories for very young children. Her published children’s books include, most recently, LOOKING FOR SMILE and BECOMING BLUE. She has been a classroom teacher and for many years worked as an editor of early childhood classroom materials. In that job she got to write hundreds of stories for young children. Now that she is working less, she is excited to work on her own stories. After spending her whole adult life in New York City, Ellen just moved to the Hudson Valley with her husband David, a painter. 

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Sophie Tavert-Macian has been bringing her eclectic universe to cinema for twenty years, in a dozen films that play with formats (haiku, short and long), techniques (live action or animation), and genres. Her animated short 'Traces' was nominated for the 2021 Césars and Oscars. The adaptation of this film into an illustrated children's book was published by Delachaux et Niestlé in 2022. Her first novel, the sports-oriented and contemporary Gamba, was published in 2024 by Belfond.

Sarah Stewart Taylor is a fiction writer and journalist who lives with her family on a farm in Vermont; her published mysteries include the Maggie d’Arcy series, starting with The Mountains Wild, the Sweeney St. George mystery series (the first book in the series, O’ Artful Death, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel), The Expeditioners series of adventure novels for middle grade readers, and Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean, a graphic novel for younger readers, which was nominated for an Eisner Award.

Leah Tinari is a widely exhibited New York based artist. Since graduating from RISD in 1998, Tinari has documented her life and friends through painting the capture the energy and exuberance of her surroundings.

Phuc Tran is a tattoo artist and co-owner of Tsunami Tattoo in Portland, Maine, where he also teaches Latin at Waynflete School. He has taught Latin, Greek, German, and Sanskrit at independent schools in New York and Maine and is a former instructor at Brooklyn College's Summer Latin Institute. See his TEDx talk on “Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive” here. His first book, Sigh, Gone, is the winner of the 2021 Maine Literary Award & 2020 New England Book Award.

Jing Jing Tsong is a New York Times bestselling children's picture book illustrator.

Jing Jing's images are a digital collage of color, traditional printmaking techniques

and pattern. When not growing kale or surfing, Jing Jing spends her time translating

the world through her words and pictures.

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Tina Aguila Tuscher is a Filipino American author and illustrator with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from UCLA. Driven by a passion for storytelling and celebrating diversity, she helped develop a Wee Books program at The Early Learning Institute for children aged 0-5 with special needs, fostering inclusive early childhood literacy. Currently, Tina writes and illustrates picture books that highlight multicultural backgrounds and promotes understanding and acceptance among young readers. When not creating, she enjoys her two grandchildren, her dog Toby and connecting with her community.

Dana VanderLugt is a writer and teacher who believes firmly in the power of stories to change hearts and minds. In addition to her writing for middle grade readers, Dana’s work has been published in Longridge Review, Relief: A Journal of Art & Faith, the Michigan Reading Journal, and The Reformed Journal, where she is also a frequent contributor on its daily blog.

A former middle school English teacher, Dana now works as an instructional coach and has an MFA in Creative Writing from The Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University. She lives in Michigan with her husband, three sons, and a spoiled golden retriever.

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Allison Varnes taught English in special education for eight years, and once had to convince administrators that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was not an actual endorsement of witchcraft. She is currently a Ph.D. student in English Education at The University of Tennessee, where she also supervises beginning English teachers during their internship year.

Illustrator Eric Velasquez was born in Spanish Harlem and he grew up in Harlem. Eric graduated from the High School of Art and Design and earned his BFA from the School of Visual Arts. He also completed a year of studies with Harvey Dinnerstein at the Art Student’s League.

Eric is the illustrator of over 30 acclaimed picture books and the recipient of numerous awards, including the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature for Children. He lives and works in New York. He teaches book illustration at FIT (The Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC.

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Rona Wang is currently a math major at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For her short stories, she has been named a HerCampus 22 Under 22 and nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology. She is originally from Portland, Oregon, and as a second-generation Chinese American she loves to write stories that reflect the Asian American experience. You Had Me at Hello World is her debut YA novel.