Who should we bring in next?
It was so awesome Margaret Peterson Haddix could spend her day with us at PCMS on April 3rd.
PCMS has been so fortunate to bring in some really cool authors over the years.
Who should be our next author visit?
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (author of Making Bombs for Hitler) contacted, Won't travel to US right now.
Wendelin Van Draanen (author of Running Dream)
Cynthia DeFelice (author of Wild Life)
Tui T. Sutherland - (author of Wings of Fire series)
Roland Smith (author of survival/adventure books, Peak) contacted, nothing scheduled.
Ruta Sepetys (author of Between Shades of Gray)
Neil Gaiman (Coraline, The Graveyard Book and more)
Erin Hunter (Warrior series)
Dave Pilkey
Carl Hiaasen (Hoot, Flush, Chomp and more)
Steve Sheinkin (Author of Bomb)
Lane Walker
Authors I have been asked to bring in that are not touring (NT) or cost too much (CTM):
Suzanne Collins (NT), Alan Gratz (NT), Veronica Roth (NT), Ben Mikaelsen (NT), James Patterson (NT), Kwame Alexander (CTM), Nathan Hale (NT), James Dashner (NT), JK Rowling (NT), Rick Riordan (NT), R.L. Stine (CTM), Jeff Kinney (CTM),
Margaret Peterson Haddix
April 3, 2025
Jennifer Nielsen
March 15, 2024
Lynda Blackman Lowrey -
February 16, 2023
Alan Gratz -
April 18, 2019
Ben Mikaelsen -
October 6, 2016
Gordon Korman
February 25, 2015
Want to hear Haddix read the first chapter of a book?
If you would like to hear Margaret Peterson Haddix read the first chapter of one of her books, click on a book below!
Learn about some more about her books here!
This is one of her more popular series!
In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke, an illegal third child, has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm in this start to the Shadow Children series from Margaret Peterson Haddix.
Luke has never been to school. He's never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend's house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend.
Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He's lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family's farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside.
Then, one day Luke sees a girl's face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he's met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows -- does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?
Jonah knows that he's adopted, but he doesn't know that the past and history itself will depend on him more than he ever thought possible in this first book in Margaret Peterson Haddix's New York Times bestselling The Missing series.
One night a plane appeared out of nowhere, the only passengers aboard: thirty-six babies. As soon as they were taken off the plane, it vanished. Now, thirteen years later, two of those children are receiving sinister messages, and they begin to investigate their past. Their quest to discover where they really came from leads them to a conspiracy that reaches from the far past to the distant future—and will take them hurtling through time. In this exciting new series, bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix brings an element of suspense that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
A 2025 Battle of the Books, book
Clifton, Indiana, 1840. Jessie Keyser lives with her family in a small log cabin. Her father is a blacksmith and her mother cares for her and her siblings—though, at night, Jessie’s mother also secretly tends anyone who gets sick in their village.
Lately, more and more people have been falling ill. Especially the other kids in Jessie’s one-room schoolhouse. Quarantine signs appear on the local homes. And Jessie’s mother looks worried. Very worried. One night, she tells Jessie that it’s a diphtheria outbreak—a dangerous disease. And if they don’t act soon, some of those sick children could die. Then Jessie’s mother tells her that only Jessie can help—by leaving Clifton.
But Jessie’s mother also reveals a shocking truth about the outside world, and what, where, and when Clifton is. Jessie will have to escape and survive a totally strange world, because she and her friends are all running out of time.
“The action moves swiftly, with plenty of suspense, and readers will be eager to discover how Jessie overcomes the obstacles that stand in her way… This book will appeal to fans of time-travel or historical novels as well as those who prefer realistic contemporary fiction." —School Library Journal, starred review
New York Times bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix takes readers on a thrilling adventure filled with mysteries and plot twists aplenty in this absorbing series about family and friendships. Perfect for fans of A Wrinkle in Time and The City of Ember!
What makes you you?
The Greystone kids thought they knew. Chess has always been the protector over his younger siblings, Emma loves math, and Finn does what Finn does best—acting silly and being adored. They’ve been a happy family, just the three of them and their mom.
But everything changes when reports of three kidnapped children reach the Greystone kids, and they’re shocked by the startling similarities between themselves and these complete strangers. The other kids share their same first and middle names. They’re the same ages. They even have identical birthdays. Who, exactly, are these strangers?
Before Chess, Emma, and Finn can question their mom about it, she takes off on a sudden work trip and leaves them in the care of Ms. Morales and her daughter, Natalie. But puzzling clues left behind lead to complex codes, hidden rooms, and a dangerous secret that will turn their world upside down.
Learn more about her other books in the Haddix tab across the top!
Becca has plenty to hide and everything to lose—but with her future on the line, she’s willing to risk it all. A gripping novel from New York Times bestselling author Maragaret Peterson Haddix.
Becca’s claim to fame is one she’s been hiding from for the past three years: Her father is a notorious embezzler, and when he was caught, his excuse was, “How else is a guy like me supposed to put his kid through college?”
Three years after the trial and imprisonment that destroyed Becca’s life, she and her mother have started over again and are living in a town where no one knows their secret. But as college—and its cost—looms large, Becca begins to wonder how they’ll afford it. And how she can apply for financial aid without divulging her secret? A local scholarship opportunity seems like a dream come true, but as the application process commences, Becca uncovers a chain of secrets that could destroy everything she’s worked so hard to build. But the truth could also lead her toward the future she’s always dreamed of…