A former programmer, poet, teacher, and engineering/science writer, Fran Wilde’s novels and short stories have been finalists for three Nebula awards, two Hugo Awards, and a World Fantasy Award. They include her Andre Norton- and Compton Crook-winning debut novel, Updraft; its sequels, Cloudbound and Horizon and her debut middle-grade novel Riverland (forthcoming from Abrams in April 2019). Her short stories appear in Asimov’s, Tor.com, and Nature Magazine. Her nonfiction appears at The Washington Post, iO9, Paste, and GeekMom.com.

She lives in Philadelphia with her family and one very LOUD bird.

You can find her on Twitter , Instagram, Facebook, and at franwilde.net.

Riverland

When things go bad at home, sisters Eleanor and Mike hide in a secret place under Eleanor's bed, telling monster stories. Often, it seems those stories and their mother's house magic are all that keep them safe from both busybodies and their dad's temper.

Nicole writes science fiction and magical realism for middle graders. She follows awe wherever it leads her.

In her past life, she was a Chief Technology Officer for various internet start-ups. She began her career at CNN, moved on to work with Sally Ride at Space.com, and then helped found Figment.com, a website for teens to share their own writing. She has a Masters in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and teaches writing at the Highlights Foundation. Home is just outside of Philadelphia where she lives with her human family, two large dogs named Merlin and Arthur, and two small cats named Tink and Pickwick. You can find her and subscribe to her newsletter at www.nicolevalentinebooks.com and on Twitter at @nicoleva.

Her debut novel A TIME TRAVELER’S THEORY OF RELATIVITY will be published by Lerner/Carolrhoda Books in October of 2019.

C. Taylor-Butler is the author of more than 80 books for children and young adults. A graduate of MIT, she holds dual degrees in both Civil Engineering and Art  & Design, from MIT.

A fan of science fiction, she envisioned a story where warriors trying to save the world were the geeks and nerds living in plain sight. The Lost Tribes series incorporates puzzles, odd world locations and mysteries. 

C. Taylor-Butler is a member of Science Fiction Writers of America, the Authors Guild, Society of Midland Authors and is past President of Missouri Writers Guild. She’s presented at World Science Fiction Convention, American Library Association, Assembly on Adolescent Literature, and a host of other events. She lives in Kansas City with her husband, a tank of fish and the cat that inspired Aris in the series.

Visit https://www.TheLostTribesSeries.com

Stacy McAnulty is a children’s book author, who used to be a mechanical engineer, who’s also qualified to be a dog therapist (is that a thing???), a correspondent for The Daily Show (why not), and a Green Bay Packer coach (totally!). She has written dozens of books including her debut middle-grade novel, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl , a Junior Library Guild Selection, and the 2017 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor book Excellent Ed, illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach. Her other picture books include Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, illustrated by David Litchfield; Max Explains Everything: Grocery Store Expert, illustrated by Deborah Hocking, Brave and Beautiful, both illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff; Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite, illustrated by Edward Hemingway; and 101 Reasons Why I’m Not Taking a Bath, illustrated by Joy Ang. She’s also authored the chapter book series Goldie Blox, based on the award-winning toys, and The Dino Files. Her second middle grade novel, The World Ends in April, hits shelves in September 2019. When not writing, Stacy likes to listen to NPR, bake triple-chocolate cupcakes, and eat triple-chocolate cupcakes. Originally from upstate NY, she now lives in Kernersville, NC with her 3 kids, 3 dogs, and 1 husband.

Aimee Lucido is the author of the upcoming novels EMMY IN THE KEY OF CODE (Versify, September 24, 2019), and RECIPE FOR DISASTER (Versify, Spring 2021). She’s a former software engineer, and she got her MFA in writing for children and young adults at Hamline University. She lives with her husband in San Francisco where she likes to bake, run marathons, and write crossword puzzles.

Kim Long loves to write stories with a sense of adventure, a dash of magic, and a hint of science. She wrote her first book at age 10, where she combined the best parts of her favorite Choose Your Own Adventures into a single story. (Cave of Time at Chimney Rock in the Bermuda Triangle.) When not writing, she practices as a lawyer, loves playing board games, watching Star Wars movies, and riding her bike along Illinois’ many trails. Her debut novel, Lexi Magill and the Teleportation Tournament, will be released on October 1, 2019, by Running Press Kids. You can find her on Twitter @KimLongMG and read more about her at KimLongAuthor.com.

Joshua S. Levy was born and raised in Florida. After teaching middle school (yes, including seventh grade) for a little while, he went to law school. He lives with his wife and two children in New Jersey, where he practices as a lawyer. Unfortunately, outer space doesn’t come up in court nearly as often as he’d like. SEVENTH GRADE VS. THE GALAXY is his first novel. You can find him online at http://www.joshuasimonlevy.com/ and on Twitter @JoshuaSLevy.

Jarrett Lerner is the author of EngiNerds and its sequel, Revenge of the EngiNerds, as well as the forthcoming Geeger the Robotseries (all published by Simon & Schuster/Aladdin). He cofounded and helps run the MG Book Village, an online hub for all things Middle Grade, and is the co-organizer of the #KidsNeedBooks and #KidsNeedMentors programs. He can be found at jarrettlerner.com, on Twitter at @Jarrett_Lerner, and on Instragram at @jarrettlerner. He lives in Medford, Massachusetts, with his wife, his daughter, and a cat.

Flaming Snot Rockets! Jim is a word wrangling pixel herder. He holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts where he learned to write books with action, heart, and gobs of humor. He has presented workshops and classes for the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, the Cape Cod Writers Center, the Cotuit Center for the Arts, the New England Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators, the Highlights Foundation.

His upcoming middle-grade graphic novel celebrates nerd culture, cosplay, and putting bullies in their place. It hits the shelf in the latter half of 2019.

He is represented by Sara Crowe of Pippin Properties, Inc. You can find him online at heyjimhill.com.

Lamar Giles is a well published author and a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. Lamar has two novels publishing in 2019: his debut middle grade fantasy THE LAST LAST-DAY-OF-SUMMER (Versify / HMH) and his fourth YA thriller SPIN(Scholastic).

Lamar Giles is a two-time Edgar Award finalist in the YA category, for his debut YA thriller FAKE ID (HarperCollins, 2014), and his second YA thriller, ENDANGERED (HarperCollins, 2015). His third YA thriller, OVERTURNED (Scholastic, 2017) received this glowing New York Times review, and was named a Kirkus Best Book of 2017. You can see the book trailer for OVERTURNED here. FAKE ID has been optioned by Sony Pictures.

Lamar is a contributor to the YA anthology THREE SIDES OF A HEART (HarperCollins, 2017), editor of the We Need Diverse Books YA short story anthology FRESH INK (Random House 2018), a contributor to the YA anthology BLACK ENOUGH: STORIES OF BEING YOUNG & BLACK IN AMERICA (HarperCollins / Balzer & Bray), and a contributor to a forthcoming We Need Diverse Books middle grade anthology. He has published several short stories for adults. You can see tv interviews with Lamar here, here and here, and a truly fun “Fun Facts”  short interview, created by HarperCollins.

Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo writes middle grade books about kids discovering their inner BRAVE! Her debut novel, RUBY IN THE SKY (FSG-Macmillan 2019) won the SCBWI work-in-progress award, the PEN-NE Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award, the NESCBWI Ruth Landers Glass Scholarship, and the New Voices in Children’s Literature: Tassy Walden Award. Her next book, A GALAXY OF SEA STARS (FSG-Macmillan) will be coming out soon!

Malayna Evans, author of Jagger Jones and the Mummy's Ankh, is crazy about ancient Egypt. She also loves a good hero tale, her two adorable children, and strong coffee. She earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago and has used her background to craft a tale loaded with historical details and topsy-turvy adventure. Although Jagger and his family are pure fiction, the court and the cast of ancient characters are all historically attested. (The magic and creepy creatures, not so much.)

You can find her online:

https://twitter.com/Malayna 
https://www.instagram.com/malaynaevans/ 
https://www.goodreads.com/MalaynaEvans  
http://malaynaevans.com

Melanie Crowder is the acclaimed author of several books for young readers, including Audacity, Three Pennies, An Uninterrupted View of the Sky, A Nearer Moon and Parched, as well as the new middle grade duology The Lighthouse Between the Worlds.

Melanie’s books have been awarded the Jefferson Cup, the Arnold Adoff Poetry Award, the SCBWI Crystal Kite, and the Bulletin Blue Ribbon; they have been recognized as a National Jewish Book Awards Finalist, Walden Award finalist, Colorado Book Awards Finalist, Junior Library Guild selection, YALSA Top Ten Books For Young Adults, ILA Notable Book for a Global Society, Parents’ Choice Silver Medal, BookBrowse Editor’s Choice, BookPage Top Pick, and The Washington Post Best Children’s Books for April. Her work has been listed as Best Books of the Year by Bank Street College, Kirkus Reviews, The Amelia Bloomer List, New York Public Library, Tablet Magazine, A Mighty Girl, and The Children’s Book Review.

The author lives under the big blue Colorado sky with a wife, two kids, and one good dog. Visit her online at www.melaniecrowder.com.

Ailynn Collins grew up reading books about talking animals, magical wardrobes, and aliens from far-away planets. She writes speculative fiction for kids, hoping they’ll fall in love with books the way she did. She has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University, where she was mentored by the most wonderful kidlit authors. Her books includeRedworld – a MG science fiction series, and three books in the Screams in Space series. She’s also written nonfiction about space and the future. She is passionate about diversity in kidlit, writing for the child like her who longed to see herself reflected in books. When not writing, she competes with her 3 Old English Sheepdogs. She also mentors young writers through the nonprofit organization, Society of Young Inklings. In the world of work, she began as a lawyer, then taught as a Montessorian for 26 years, and now teaches English in a French Immersion school. She’s lived in many countries all over the world, and is now comfortably settled in Redmond, WA.

Caroline Carlson is the author of funny and fantastical books for young readers, including The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates trilogy, The World’s Greatest Detective, and The Door at the End of the World. Her novels have won accolades from the New York Times, the American Booksellers Association, Bank Street College of Education, the American Library Association, and Junior Library Guild, among others.

Caroline holds a BA from Swarthmore College and an MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College of Fine Arts. A Massachusetts native, she now lives in Pittsburgh with her family. Visit her online at carolinecarlsonbooks.com.

Sarah R. Baughman is an author whose debut middle grade novel, THE LIGHT IN THE LAKE, is forthcoming from Little, Brown Books For Young Readers in 2019. A former middle and high school English teacher currently working as an educational consultant, Sarah graduated from Grinnell College and the University of Michigan, where she studied English, German, and Education. Sarah is represented by Katie Grimm at Don Congdon Associates.