Onward

Erin Entrada Kelly is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning novels Hello, Universe and The First State of Being, which was also named a finalist for the National Book Award. She received a Newbery Honor for her acclaimed novel We Dream of Space. Erin Entrada Kelly grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and now lives in Delaware. She teaches in the MFA in writing for children and young adults program at Hamline University. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Philippines Free Press Literary Award for Short Fiction and the Pushcart Prize. Before becoming a children’s author, she worked as a journalist and magazine editor and received numerous awards for community service journalism, feature writing, and editing from the Louisiana Press Association and the Associated Press.

Erin Entrada Kelly’s debut novel, Blackbird Fly, was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, an ALSC Notable Book, and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor Book. She is also the author of The Land of Forgotten Girls, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature; You Go First, an Indie Next Pick; Lalani of the Distant Sea, an Indie Next Pick; Those Kids from Fawn Creek, named to numerous best-of-the-year lists; The Second Life of Snap, which received six starred reviews; and six popular novels for younger readers, Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey, Surely Surely Marisol Rainey, Only Only Marisol Rainey, Your Turn Marisol Rainey, Felix Powell, Boy Dog, and Felix Powell, Boy Squirrel, which she also illustrated. Erin Entrada Kelly’s acclaimed nonfiction debut, At Last She Stood, was the recipient of the Robert F. Sibert Honor. It tells the sweeping story of Filipino World War II guerrilla fighter, Josefina Guerrero.

Aya De León is a writer, activist, educator, spoken word poet and author of the award-winning Justice Hustlers series. The Director of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People, she teaches poetry and spoken word at UC Berkeley and is an alumna of Cave Canem, VONA and Harvard University. She is a winner of the International Latino Book Award and a two-time winner of the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and her extensive writing credits include Guernica, Essence, Ebony, The Huffington Post, VICE, Ploughshares, Woman’s Day and Bitch magazine, among many other websites and publications. De León first came to national attention as a spoken word artist in the underground poetry scene in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a hip-hop theater artist. She lives in San Francisco and can be found online at www.AyaDeLeon.com.

Sarah Aronson began writing for kids and teens when someone in an exercise class dared her to try. Since then, she has earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and published three novels: Head Case, Beyond Lucky, and Believe. Her most recent books are part of a new young middle grade series about the worst fairy godmother ever, The Wish List. She is the cofounder and organizer of the Writing Novels for Young People Retreat at VCFA and has served as an SCBWI mentor in both Illinois and Michigan. She lives in Evanston, Illinois.

Z Brewer is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series, and more short stories than they can recall. Their pronouns are they/them. Z is also an outspoken mental health and antibullying advocate. Plus, they have awesome hair. Z lives in Saint Louis, Missouri, with a husband person, one child person, and three furry overlords that some people refer to as “cats.” Visit Z online at zbrewerbooks.com.

Rin Chupeco has written obscure manuals for complicated computer programs, talked people out of their money at event shows, and done many other terrible things. They now write about ghosts and fantastic worlds but are still sometimes mistaken for a revenant. They are the author of The Girl from the Well, its sequel, The Suffering, and the Bone Witch trilogy. Find them at www.rinchupeco.com.