Cara Bean is a cartoonist, art educator, and the author of Here I Am, I Am Me: An Illustrated Guide to Mental Health. Her book was named to the Children’s Book Council’s 2025 Favorites lists for both Middle Grade and Teacher Favorites and was shortlisted for the Graphic Medicine International Comics Awards. Her comics and writing have appeared in PEN America Illustrated, The Women’s Review of Books, and Teaching Arts Magazine. Cara leads interactive workshops that spark creativity for people of all ages and backgrounds, with a special focus on how drawing can nurture mindfulness and imagination. She delights in seeing complex ideas take shape from the simple act of doodling. Outside of her work, she enjoys taking long walks, savoring a hot cup of tea, and sharing a good laugh with friends and family.

James Bird is the author of middle-grade novels The Brave (NYPL, SLJ, Bookriot Best Book of 2020), The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls (NYPL, SLJ Best book of 2022), and No PLace Like Home. He is also a screenwriter and director at the independent film company, Zombot Pictures; his films include award-winning We Are Boats and Honeyglue. Originally from California, James Bird is of Ojibwe descent, and now lives in Massachusetts with his wife, the author and actor Adriana Mather, and their son.

Louangie Bou-Montes was born in Northampton, Massachusetts and grew up flitting back and forth between rural Western Mass and el campo in Guayama, PR, surrounded by countless cousins in both locations. Thanks to those cousins, she was raised on a healthy diet of everything from The Addams Family to Silent Hill to Pet Sematary, resulting in a love of telling stories about Puerto Rican kids with morbid hobbies and senses of humor.  After graduating with a BA in English from UMass Amherst, she spent nearly a decade working as a high school educator, mostly focused in Special Education, Trauma-Informed teaching, and ELL. On any given day, you can find Louangie at home playing video games or watching cooking shows and horror movies with her spouse.

Rebecca Caprara graduated from Cornell University and practiced architecture before shifting her focus from bricks to books. She writes stories for readers of all ages and loves experimenting with narrative forms and new genres. Her work ranges from poetry and picture books to middle grade and young adult novels. Her most recent books include Spin, a feminist reimagining of Ovid's myth of Arachne for young adult readers. Spin has received multiple starred reviews and was named a Best Book of 2023 by School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and the Chicago Public Library. It was an ALA: Rise Feminist Book Project Top 10 selection and an NPR Book of the Day. 

Annie Cardi is the author of Red, which was chosen as Kids’ Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association and  The Chance You Won’t Return, which received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly, and was named a Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year. She has an MFA from Emerson College, and she currently lives with her family and dog in the Boston area.

Ellen T. Crenshaw is a cartoonist and illustrator living on Massachusetts' North Shore. She is the creator of New York Times bestselling Baby-sitters Club graphic novel adaptations, including Stacey's Mistake, Kristy and the Walking Disaster, and Jessi Ramsey, Pet-Sitter by Ann M. Martin. She is the co-creator with Colleen AF Venable of Kiss Number 8, which was nominated for the 2019 National Book Award and the 2020 Eisner Award. A longtime creator of history comics, her first nonfiction graphic novel is What Was the Turning Point of the Civil War?: Alfred Waud Goes to Gettysburg, a Who HQ title. When she's not making comics, she loves playing video games, hiking with her dog, and analyzing movies with her husband.

Kate Fussner (she/her) is a novelist, teacher, and accidental poet living in Massachusetts with her wife and dramatic dog. She holds her B.A. in English from Vassar College, her M.Ed. from UMass Boston/Boston Teacher Residency, and her M.F.A. in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. Kate spent more than a decade teaching English for grades 6-12 for Boston Public Schools, where she created and implemented choice-based curriculum for her students, helping all students find joy in reading. Her partnership with her school’s teacher-librarian to build a school-wide culture of reading was the focus of several BPS professional developments and the BostonEd Talks in 2019. Her debut novel, The Song of Us (HarperCollins) was named a 2024 Notable Verse Novel by NCTE, longlisted for the MA Book Awards for YA/MG, and named a Best Children’s Book of the Year by Bank Street College of Education. Her second queer middle grade novel-in-verse, 13 Ways to Say Goodbye (HarperCollins), a story of grief, first love, art, Paris, and ghosts, released on March 18, 2025.

Jarad Greene is a cartoonist and illustrator originally from Lutz, FL. He graduated from the University of South Carolina, with a BA in Criminology & Criminal Justice, and minors in Theatre, and Public Relations. His comics and cartoons have appeared in publications throughout the Southeast and Vermont. He earned his MFA at The Center for Cartoon Studies and currently works for CCS as their Administrative and Development Coordinator. He is the author and illustrator of the graphic novels A-Okay, A for Effort, and Scullion: A Dishwasher’s Guide to Mistaken Identity. www.jaradgreene.com

Desmond Hall was born in Jamaica, West Indies, and moved to Jamaica, Queens. Desmond’s latest YA novel, Better Must Come is a fiercely evocative, action-packed young adult thriller that won the Caricon Prize for Caribbean YA literature and a Honor prize of the Massachusetts Book Awards. The In the Margins Book Award Committee selected the book as a top ten title and is on the YA Fiction Recommendation list. It’s a JLG selection of the month and a Booklist starred review calls it “A well-plotted, taught page-turner.” He’s also written Your Corner Dark, a YA novel that was one of Bank Street’s Best YA novels of 2021, a finalist for the New England Book Award, a Nominee for the Yalsa audio book award and the Kansas NEA Reading Circle, Essence Magazine’s 19 Children’s book list, and included on several must read lists including Buzzfeed and WBUR. He's worked as both a high school Biology teacher and English teacher, counseled at-risk teens from Riker’s Island prison, and served as Spike Lee’s creative director in the advertising business where he’s won multiple awards and written two Superbowl commercials. Desmond has also written and directed the HBO movie, A Day in Black and White, which was nominated for the Gordon Parks Award. He’s written and directed the theater play, Stockholm, Brooklyn, which won the audience award at the Downtown Theater Festival at the Cherry Lane Theater. In addition, he’s also served on the board of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and was a judge for the Addys, and the Downtown Urban Arts Film Festival. Named one of Variety Magazine’s 50 Creatives to watch. He’s a graduate of Grubstreet’s Novel Incubator, an MFA level year-long intensive. He’s currently working on two novels, a Middle Grade fantasy about time travelers who venture back to the Tulsa Massacre to save a bloodline, and a WW2 YA story about a group of high school students and their secret missions. 

Emma Hunsinger is a cartoonist living in Vermont. She started her career making gag cartoons for The New Yorker before pursusing children's literature. Her debut graphic novel How It All Ends was released in August 2024. She received her MFA from the Center For Cartoon Studies where she now teaches. 

George Jreije ("jer-age") is the author of many books, including the acclaimed Shad Hadid fantasy series, the Bashir Boutros fantasy series, and the upcoming graphic novels, Tarik's Bazaar Adventure as well as Lilo and the League of Librarians. He also writes short stories across age categories and genres in collaboration with Scholastic, UNICEF, and others. George is also a public speaker, writing teacher, and book editor. He served as the inaugural author-in-residence for the Concord Library and has been a guest of honor as well as an instructor for Gotham Writer's Workshop, WriteHive, the Highlights Foundation, and more. When not writing or helping other writers, George loves visiting schools as well as scouring the world (especially his native Lebanon) for delicious food. Connect on Instagram or send an email.

Kendall Kulper is the author of several critically-acclaimed and award-winning historical fantasy novels for young adults, including Murder for the Modern Girl (Junior Library Guild Gold Star Selection, RISE: Feminist Book Project Honoree, Children’s Book Council Young Adult and Teacher Favorite), A Starlet's Secrets to a Sensational Afterlife (JLG Selection, a Bank Street Center Best Book). Her latest novel, A Time Traveler's History of Tomorrow, is also a JLG Selection and has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus. Kendall graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in History & Literature and lives in Cambridge, MA with her husband, two daughters, and much-Instagrammed dog, Abby.

Kaija Langley was born in Northern NJ and raised on a healthy diet of library books, music and theater performances, and visits to the family farm in rural North Carolina.  She’s a proud alumna of Morgan State University, a historically black college and university in Baltimore, Maryland, and received her MFA in fiction from St. Mary’s College of California. Her debut picture book, When Langston Dances, received a Black Caucus ALA Youth Literary Award and was a finalist for the New England Book Award and NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children. Her debut middle grade novel, The Order of Things, is now available from Nancy Paulsen Books.  This powerful story about chosen family, grief, and compassion is a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection and has received three starred reviews.  Her second picture book, A Century for Caroline, with Denene Millner Books is scheduled for Spring 2025. Kaija loves long road trips, dancing wherever music moves her, and adventures near and far with her Beloved. www.kaijalangley.com.  Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @mizzkalwrites71. 

Nicole Lesperance is the author of A Spell to Wake the Dead, The Depths, and The Wide Starlight, as well as books for middle-grade readers. She grew up on Cape Cod, spent a few years in London, and now lives near Boston with her family and two rambunctious black cats. Her books have received multiple starred reviews and have been finalists for the Massachusetts Book Awards and the New England Book Awards. In her spare time, Nicole likes to practice yoga, knit, and read tarot cards.

Diana Renn is the author of five novels for young readers, including the middle grade eco-mysteries Trouble at Turtle Pond and The Owl Prowl Mystery (Fitzroy Books / Regal House) and the young adult mysteries Tokyo Heist, Latitude Zero, and Blue Voyage (Penguin Random House). Her fiction has been recognized by the Green Earth Book Awards and the Massachusetts Book Awards. Her newest project, Rambling Roads Mysteries, is a conservation-themed audio drama for adults, currently in production and slated for release as a podcast in 2026. She works as a freelance editor and writing coach and is involved with local wildlife conservation groups, including Mass Audubon and Save Concord Wildlife. She lives in Concord, a setting that inspires much of her writing, and is the proud parent of a recent CCHS graduate.

Elizabeth Santiago, PhD earned a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College then a master’s in education from Harvard University. She taught writing and literacy courses for many years before deciding to take her passion for storytelling to the next level. She completed a PhD program at Lesley University focused on creative writing for literacy acquisition and liberation. As a result of that work, two projects emerged. One is a contemporary young adult novel titled, The Moonlit Vine, featuring 14-year-old Taína, descended from long line of Taíno women who must rise within her own strength to bring peace and justice to her family and her community. Published by Lee and Low, the novel has gotten starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist. It was named one of their Best Teen & YA Novels of 2023 About Social Issues by Kirkus. Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 selected The Moonlit Vine as one of the titles to be honored on the Rise 2024 Booklist and the book has been longlisted for a 2024 Massachusetts Book Award. The second project is a website called The Untold Narratives to support all writers, emerging and experienced, in finding and sharing stories that are not typically told due to marginalization.

Colby Cedar Smith  is an award-winning poet, novelist, and educator and the author of two verse novels The Siren and the Star (Simon & Schuster, 2025) and Call Me Athena (Andrews McMeel, 2021).  Her work often focuses on the untold stories of women throughout history and has been selected for an American Booksellers Association Indie Next Pick, a Goodreads Choice for Poetry Nominee, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, a Michigan Notable Book Award, a Midwest Book Award, and a New Jersey Council on the Arts Fellowship in Poetry. Colby’s poems have been published in POETRY, The Iowa Review, Mid-American Review,   Pleiades, Bellevue Review, and her work has been featured on many news outlets such as NPR, Forbes, Writers Rumpus,   SCBWI Insights, and The American Library Associations The Hub. Smith holds a BA in creative writing from Colorado College and an EdM in Arts in Education from Harvard University. She lives in Central New Jersey with her husband, two kids, and rescue pup. To learn more visit colbycedarsmith.com  or find her on Instagram @colby_cedar_smith

David Valdes is an award-winning playwright, novelist, and essayist. He is the author of young adult novels Spin Me Right Round (Indie Next Pick, Junior Library Guild pick, New York Public Libraries Best Book for Teens), Brighter than the Moon (Bloomsbury, 2023), and Finding My Elf (Harper Teen, 2023), as well as the nonfiction books (under the name David Valdes Greenwood) Homo Domesticus, A Little Fruitcake (a Today Show Top 10 Holiday Books pick), and The Rhinestone Sisterhood. He is the author of more than a dozen plays staged coast to coast and overseas, including Mermaid Hour. His essays and columns have appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Huffington Post. Gay and Cuban-American, he is especially interested in work that is intersectional, uplifting LGBTQ and BIPOC life. Learn more at www.davidvaldeswrites.com.

Colleen AF Venable (she/her/they) is the author of the National Book Award Longlisted Kiss Number 8, a graphic novel co-created with Ellen T. Crenshaw. Her other books include the Katie the Catsitter series with Stephanie Yue, Mervin the Sloth is About to Do the Best Thing in The World with Ruth Chan, The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom with Lian Cho, and the Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye series, also with Stephanie Yue and nominated for the Best Publication for Kids Eisner. Previously Colleen was the sole designer for hundreds of First Second Books, worked as a Creative Director for Workman and Macmillan, and the Director for Epic! Kids. Now she writes full-time and splits. her time between North Adams, MA and Brooklyn, NY. Repped by the wonderful Holly Root at Root Literary.

Jennie Wood is an author, musician, and animal rescue volunteer. Their latest graphic novel, Paper Planes, won the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Young Adult Fiction and a 2023 IPPY Bronze Medal in Young Adult Fiction. They created the critically acclaimed, award-winning Flutter graphic novel series with artist Jeff McComsey.  Flutter was named one of The Advocate’s best LGBTQ graphic novels of the year, a Barnes & Noble Book of the Month, an INDIEFAB Book of the Year finalist, a Virginia Library Association Diversity Honor Book, and the Best Graphic Novel of the Year by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Jennie’s young adult novel, A Boy Like Me, was a Next Generation Indie Book awards finalist, an INDIEFAB Book of the Year finalist, and one of Foreword Reviews’ 10 Best Indie YA novels for 2014. Their work has been published in several anthologies, including The New York Times best-selling FUBAR, the Eisner award-winning anthology Love is Love, and John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight. Jennie currently lives in Boston, MA with their partner Natalie and rescue dog Moxie. For more: jenniewood.com