Dan Santat

Dan Santat is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design and has published over one hundred books for children. His most notable titles include The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, which won the Randolph Caldecott Medal in 2015, the #1 New York Times best-selling road trip/time travel adventure Are We There Yet?, and the New York Times best-selling book After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again), which was named best book of the year on numerous publications including NPR and The New York Public Library.

General Session Keynote

Padma Venkatraman

Padma Venkatraman is the WNDB Walter Dean Myers award-winning author The Bridge Home, a 2019 Global Read Aloud; Island’s End, A Time to Dance and Climbing the Stairs. All her books have been featured on numerous best book lists, received a total of over 20 starred reviews, and won multiple honors (ALA Notable books, NYPL Notable, Kirkus Best Book, Booklist Editor’s Choice, SLJ Best Book, PW Flying Start, etc.) and awards (including two South Asia Book Awards, two Paterson prizes, a Julia Ward Howe Boston Authors Club Award, SCBWI Golden Kite award and many more).

Lunch Keynote

Josh Allen

Josh Allen checks under his bed before switching off the light each night. During the day, he teaches creative writing and literature at Brigham Young University-Idaho.

He’s the author of OUT TO GET YOU, a Junior Library Guild selection published by Holiday House in September 2019. Learn more at joshallenwriter.com.

Author

Christian McKay Heidicker

Christian McKay Heidicker reads and writes and drinks tea.

Christian is the author of the Newbery Honor-winning Scary Stories for Young Foxes and its companion SSFYF: The City, as well as the Thieves of Weirdwood trilogy, Cure for the Common Universe, and Attack of the 50 Foot Wallflower. He lives by a graveyard in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit his spirit at cmheidicker.com.

Author