Come On In

Adi Alsaid was born and raised in Mexico City. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He's now back in Mexico City, where he writes, coaches basketball, and makes every dish he eats as spicy as possible. In addition to Mexico, he's lived in Tel Aviv, Las Vegas and Monterey, California. His books include Let's Get Lost, Never Always Sometimes, and North of Happy. Visit Adi online at www.SomewhereOverTheSun.com, or on Twitter: @AdiAlsaid.

Maria E. Andreu is an Argentinian American author whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Newsweek, the Washington Post, and the Newark Star-Ledger. Her debut young adult novel, The Secret Side of Empty, was a Junior Library Guild Selection and a National Indie Excellence Book Award winner.

Misa Sugiura’s ancestors include a poet, a priestess, a samurai, and a stowaway. Her first novel, It’s Not Like It’s a Secret, was the winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for YA Literature. Her second novel, This Time Will Be Different, was the HarperCollins Children's Books Lead Read. Misa lives under a giant oak tree in Silicon Valley with her husband, two sons, and three cats. Visit her online at www.misasugiura.com.

Sona Charaipotra is the author of Symptoms of a Heartbreak and How Maya Got Fierce and coauthor of The Rumor Game and Tiny Pretty Things, now a Netflix original series. She earned a master’s degree in screenwriting from NYU and an MFA in creative writing from the New School. A working journalist, Sona has held editorial roles at People, TeenPeople, ABCNews.com, MSN, several parenting publications, the Barnes & Noble Teen Blog (RIP), and, most recently, as senior editor of trends and features at Parents.com. She has contributed to publications from the New York Times to TeenVogue. She is a former We Need Diverse Books board member, and she cofounded CAKE Literary, a boutique book packager focused on high-concept diverse titles. Find her on the web talking about books, Bollywood movies, and chai. 

Yamile Saied Méndez is the author of many books for young readers and adults, including the award-winning picture books Where Are You From? and What Will You Be? She was born and raised in Rosario, Argentina, and now lives in a lovely valley surrounded by mountains in Utah with her husband, five children, two dogs, and a majestic cat. She’s a graduate of Voices of Our Nations and the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA writing for children and young adults program. She’s always trying new empanada recipes. Connect with her at yamilemendez.com.

Zoraida Córdova is Ecuadorian born and New York City raised. She is the award-winning author of the Brooklyn Brujas series and The Vicious Deep trilogy. Her short fiction has appeared in the New York Times bestselling anthology Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, and Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft. She is the co-editor of Vampires Never Get Old, a YA anthology forthcoming from Imprint/Macmillan in fall 2020. When she isn't working on her next novel, she's planning her next adventure.

SARA FARIZAN lives near Boston, Massachusetts. She is an MFA graduate of Lesley University and holds a BA in film and media studies from American University.

TWITTER: @SaraFarizan

Justine Larbalestier is the author of Liar, How to Ditch Your Fairy, and the Magic or Madness trilogy, as well as the coeditor with Holly Black of Zombies vs. Unicorns. She and her husband, author Scott Westerfeld, divide their time between Sydney, Australia, and New York City.