Featured Authors
and Illustrators
KARLA HARRY VISITING AUTHOR GRACE LIN
Grace Lin, a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and the Theodor Geisel Honor for Ling and Ting. Her novel When the Sea Turned to Silver was a National Book Award Finalist and her picture book A Big Mooncake for Little Star was awarded the Caldecott Honor.
Grace is also an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio, a reviewer for the New York Times, a video essayist for PBS NewsHour, and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf.” She has also hosted the two podcasts: kidlitwomen* and Kids Ask Authors. In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House, where Grace was recognized by President Obama’s office as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling.
Grace is also an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio, a reviewer for the New York Times, a video essayist for PBS NewsHour, and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf.” She has also hosted the two podcasts: kidlitwomen* and Kids Ask Authors. In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House, where Grace was recognized by President Obama’s office as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling.
GABBY RIVERA
Gabby Rivera is an author and comics creator who was the first Latina to write for Marvel Comics. As the writer of the Marvel series America, she created America Chavez, the first queer, Latinx teen-girl superhero to appear in comics. Currently, Gabby is the writer and creator of b.b. free, a new original comic series for BOOM! Studios, and the host of the podcast joy revolution. When not writing, Gabby speaks on her experiences as a queer Puerto Rican from the Bronx, an LGBTQ youth advocate, and the importance of prioritizing joy in communities of queer and trans people of color at events across the country.
CECIL CASTELLUCCI
Cecil Castellucci is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of books and graphic novels for young adults including Shade, The Changing Girl, Boy Proof, Soupy Leaves Home, The Year of the Beasts, Tin Star, The Female Furies and Odd Duck. She has also written books and comics for many beloved characters, including Batgirl for DC Comics, Snow White, Frozen, and The Little Mermaid for Disney Comics, and Star Wars Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure.
Her two newest graphic novels are Girl on Film and The Plain Janes. Her short stories and short comics have been published in Strange Horizons, Tor.com, Womanthology, Star Trek: Waypoint, Vertigo SFX: Slam! and many other anthologies. In a former life, she was known as Cecil Seaskull in the Canadian ‘90s indie band Nerdy Girl. She has written two opera librettos, Les Aventures de Madame Merveille and Hockey Noir: The Opera. She is a two-time MacDowell Fellow and currently lives in Los Angeles.
Her two newest graphic novels are Girl on Film and The Plain Janes. Her short stories and short comics have been published in Strange Horizons, Tor.com, Womanthology, Star Trek: Waypoint, Vertigo SFX: Slam! and many other anthologies. In a former life, she was known as Cecil Seaskull in the Canadian ‘90s indie band Nerdy Girl. She has written two opera librettos, Les Aventures de Madame Merveille and Hockey Noir: The Opera. She is a two-time MacDowell Fellow and currently lives in Los Angeles.
KAT LEYH
Kat Leyh is a Chicago-based writer and artist. She’s best known as a co-writer and cover artist for the series Lumberjanes., and she's worked as a cover artist and writer and artist for several other BOOM! Studios series. Her new graphic novel, Snapdragon, was released by First Second this year. Her upcoming graphic novel from Gallery 13, Thirsty Mermaids, will be released February 2021. Besides creating comics, her favorite things include riding her bike, traveling, cooking food, eating that food, and being a great big nerd.
JEANETTE BRADLEY
Jeanette Bradley has been an urban planner, an apprentice pastry chef, and the artist-in-residence for a traveling art museum on a train. Her debut picture book Love, Mama was published by Roaring Brook Press in 2018. She is also co-editor and illustrator of the anthology No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History and illustrator of When the Babies Came to Stay. Jeanette lives in Rhode Island with her wife and kids.
KEILA V. DAWSON
Keila is the co-editor, along with Lindsay H. Metcalf and Jeanette Bradley, of No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History, illustrated by Jeanette Bradley, and the author of the forthcoming Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book, illustrated by Alleanna Harris.
A native of New Orleans, her debut picture book The King Cake Baby, celebrates one of the unique cultural traditions in her hometown – eating King Cake during the Mardi Gras season.
Keila is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, writes monthly author studies for the Reading for Research Month blog, and reviews books for Multicultural Children’s Book Day. When Keila isn’t reading, writing, and visiting schools, she’s traveling, playing tennis, or digging in genealogical archives.
Before becoming a children’s book author, Keila V. Dawson was a community organizer, special education teacher, school administrator, educational consultant, and advocate. She has lived and worked in the United States, the Philippines, Japan, and Egypt.
A native of New Orleans, her debut picture book The King Cake Baby, celebrates one of the unique cultural traditions in her hometown – eating King Cake during the Mardi Gras season.
Keila is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, writes monthly author studies for the Reading for Research Month blog, and reviews books for Multicultural Children’s Book Day. When Keila isn’t reading, writing, and visiting schools, she’s traveling, playing tennis, or digging in genealogical archives.
Before becoming a children’s book author, Keila V. Dawson was a community organizer, special education teacher, school administrator, educational consultant, and advocate. She has lived and worked in the United States, the Philippines, Japan, and Egypt.
LINDSAY H. METCALF
Lindsay H. Metcalf is a journalist and author of nonfiction picture books: Beatrix Potter, Scientist, illustrated by Junyi Wu; Farmers Unite! Planting a Protest for Fair Prices; and No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History, a poetry anthology co-edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley, illustrated by Bradley. Lindsay lives in north-central Kansas, not far from the farm where she grew up, with her husband, two sons, and a variety of pets.
ORION RAZAT
As a second grader, Orion Razat enjoyed making classmates laugh. His teacher made a deal with him. If he promised to write down jokes at home instead of telling them during class, she would provide a special time during the day when he would be able to share jokes. With the help of his family, the joke project turned into his very first book, 101 Stem Jokes. Orion was on New York City’s WBLS radio show as a young filmmaker and was honored by Jif peanut butter for his great storytelling in their “Imagine, Shared Stories” campaign. He received an award from Kids Who Bank for his creative vision as a young entrepreneur. He is a winner in the University of Washington’s 2020 Neuroscience for Kids Poetry Contest. His journey in creating 101 Stem Jokes was shared in a talk titled, “From Class Clown to Class Author” at The Seattle Times Ignite Education Lab in 2019. His animations are on display at Museum of Museums, Seattle, WA.
DAVID BADRE
David Badre is Professor of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences at Brown University, where he is also on the faculty of the Carney Institute for Brain Science. He is also a Gordon parent with children in the fourth and sixth grades. He received his PhD from MIT and did his postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley before joining Brown as faculty in 2008. He is the principal investigator for the Badre Lab at Brown, and his laboratory studies focus on the neuroscience of cognitive control and executive function.