About the Author: Tracey Baptiste was born in Trinidad, where she grew up on jumbie stories and fairy tales, and decided to be a writer at the wise old age of three, after her mother bought her an oversized illustrated Grimm’s Fairy Tales. “It was so spellbindingly beautiful, I thought I wanted to live in its pages my entire life.”

Her debut, a young adult novel titled Angel’s Grace, was named one of the 100 best books for reading and sharing by New York City librarians.

Before she started writing professionally, Tracey was a second grade teacher. After that, she worked in educational publishing developing reading and language arts textbooks for kids, and later edited nonfiction books for kids.

Tracey is a wife and mom and lives in New Jersey, where she writes and edits books for kids from a very cozy office in her house that is filled with more toys than she can count. She does lots of author visits, and is on the faculty at Lesley University’s Creative Writing MFA program.

Web URL: https://traceybaptiste.com/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/traceybaptiste

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About the Author: Sharon Cameron is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Dark Unwinding (2012), A Spark Unseen (2013), Rook (2015), The Forgetting (2016), The Knowing (2017), and The Light in Hidden Places (2020), all from Scholastic Press. Her books have been published in multiple languages and have won the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, the Westchester Fiction Award, earned starred reviews from Booklist, SLJ, Bookpage, and Kirkus, and have been chosen for numerous lists, including Indie Next Top Ten, YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, and Audible Best Books. The Light in Hidden Places has now sold in 15 foreign countries, including Poland, Israel, and Germany.

Web URL: www.sharoncameronbooks.com

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CameronSharonE

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About the Author: Kate DiCamillo is one of America’s most revered storytellers. She is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a two-time Newbery Medalist. Born in Philadelphia, she grew up in Florida and now lives in Minneapolis.

About the Book: In a time of war, a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Gentle Brother Edik finds the girl, Beatryce, curled in a stall, wracked with fever, coated in dirt and blood, and holding fast to the ear of Answelica the goat. As the monk nurses Beatryce to health, he uncovers her dangerous secret, one that imperils them all—for the king of the land seeks just such a girl, and Brother Edik, who penned the prophecy himself, knows why.

And so it is that a girl with a head full of stories—powerful tales-within-the-tale of queens and kings, mermaids and wolves—ventures into a dark wood in search of the castle of one who wishes her dead. But Beatryce knows that, should she lose her way, those who love her—a wild-eyed monk, a man who had once been king, a boy with a terrible sword, and a goat with a head as hard as stone—will never give up searching for her, and to know this is to know everything. With its timeless themes, unforgettable cast, and magical medieval setting, Kate DiCamillo’s lyrical tale, paired with resonant black-and-white illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall, is a true collaboration between masters.

Web URL: https://www.katedicamillostoriesconnectus.com/

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About the Author: Varian Johnson is the author of several novels for children and young adults, including The Parker Inheritance, which won both Coretta Scott King Author Honor and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awards; The Great Greene Heist, an ALA Notable Children’s book and Kirkus Reviews Best Book; and the graphic novel Twins, illustrated by Shannon Wright, an NPR Best Book.

Varian was born in Florence, South Carolina, and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received a BS in Civil Engineering. He later received an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and is honored to now be a member of the faculty. Varian lives outside of Austin, TX with his family.

Web URL: https://varianjohnson.com/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/varianjohnson

INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/mrvarianjohnson/

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