Children/Teens | Fiction | Nonfiction | Poetry | Moderators
Listed in alphabetical order
Middle-Grade Reading in the Digital Age — Saturday 10:00 AM
Former teacher. Wannabe chef. Debut author. Tami Charles writes picture books, middle grade and young adult novels, and nonfiction. As a teacher, she made it her mission to introduce her students to all types of literature, but especially diverse books. This reignited her passion for writing! Tami is the author of the middle grade novel, Like Vanessa (2018), which earned a starred review from Kirkus, the SCBWI Book Launch Award, Jr. Library Guild Spring 2018 Selection, and the ABA’s Top Ten Indies Introduce List. Her picture book, Freedom Soup, debuts with Candlewick Press in 2019. Tami has more forthcoming titles with Albert Whitman & Company and Capstone Publishing. Visit Tami online at https://tamiwrites.com/, and on Twitter and Instagram.
Middle-Grade Reading in the Digital Age — Saturday 10:00 AM
MarcyKate Connolly is a New York Times bestselling children’s book author who lives in New England with her family and a grumble of pugs. Like the main character in her most recent book, Shadow Weaver, she once had an imaginary friend who did very naughty things like eating directly from the sugar bowl and playing hide-and-seek with her parents—without telling them—whenever they went to department stores. Later in life, she graduated from Hampshire College (a magical place where they don’t give you grades), where she wrote an opera sequel to Hamlet as the equivalent of senior thesis. It was also there that she first fell in love with plotting and has been dreaming up new ways to make life difficult for her characters ever since. You can visit her online and learn more about her stories at www.marcykate.com. (Photo © Cheryl Colombo Photography)
Smoot: A Rebellious Shadow — Saturday 2:30 PM
Michelle Cuevas graduated from Williams College and holds a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Virginia. She is the author of acclaimed picture book and national bestseller, The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles (illustrated by Erin E. Stead), and several children’s novels including, The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole, and Confessions of an Imaginary Friend. She lives in Western Massachusetts. Read more about Michelle at MichelleCuevas.com.
The Grumpy Pets — Saturday 9:30 AM
Kristine Lombardi is the author and illustrator of three picture books: Lovey Bunny, The Grumpy Pets (Abrams) and Mr. Biddles (Harper Collins). She has many fond memories of her childhood-growing up in Bradford, Mass where she spent her days running through the field behind her house, climbing trees and daydreaming under lilac shrubs. She now lives in Montclair, NJ and delights in all things NYC. She finds inspiration everywhere and absolutely adores animals. She works in the bright studio of her pre-war apartment under the watchful eyes of her delightful calico cat Boo.
Maud the Koala — Saturday 11:00 AM
Jennifer is an award-winning illustrator and children’s book author. She has illustrated picture books, children’s magazines, greeting cards, party ware, and educational materials. She is author and illustrator of numerous picture books. Her best seller, May I Please Have a Cookie?, has sold over one million copies. She is the author and illustrator of the Maud the Koala book series recently released by Penguin Workshop.
Middle-Grade Reading in the Digital Age — Saturday 10:00 AM
Kimberly Newton Fusco is the author of four novels: Tending to Grace, which received the American Library Association’s Schneider Family Book Award; The Wonder of Charlie Anne, a Parent’s Choice Silver Medalist; Beholding Bee, a Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year; and Chasing Augustus, a Junior Library Guild Selection. Ms. Fusco was a national-award-winning education writer before becoming a novelist and is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. She lives in rural Rhode Island with her family, three sheep, and one unruly (but in-training) golden retriever named Harper.
Crime, Punishment, and the Gray Areas In Between in Young Adult Literature — Saturday 10:30 AM
Kim Savage is the author of three critically acclaimed young adult novels, After the Woods, Beautiful Broken Girls (named by Kirkus as one of the 10 Best YA of 2017), and In Her Skin (releasing April 17, 2018), all with Farrar, Straus, Giroux/Macmillan. Her novels have been published in Spain, Brazil, and Turkey, and have been optioned for TV. Kim presents at conferences and book festivals nationwide; has been featured on NPR, Herald Radio, and on local cable stations; and she reads from her novels at bookstores across the country. A former reporter with a Master degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, and her stories are based in and around Boston. She lives not far from the real Middlesex Fells Reservation of After the Woods. Kim and her husband have three children who beg to appear in her books. They shouldn’t. You can follow Kim on Instagram (kimsavagewrites) and Twitter (khsavage), and visit her at kimsavage.me.
The Exquisite Insect Game — Saturday 1:00 pm
With a focus on science and nature, Carol’s award winning illustrations have appeared in 60 picture books for a variety of publishers. Most recently you can see the small miracle of a chrysalis becoming a butterfly in her illustrations for a Tilbury House Nature Book, My Busy Green Garden, written by Terry Pierce. It is included in the Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices for best books of 2018. Carol earned her MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford, CT in 2014 and taught illustration at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design before moving to Salisbury, Massachusetts in 2016. She enjoys visiting schools, libraries and conferences speaking about her artistic process and love of nature in her artwork.
Crime, Punishment, and the Gray Areas In Between in Young Adult Literature — Saturday 10:30 AM
Francisco X. Stork was born in Monterrey, Mexico. When he was six years old, Charles Stork, a retired American citizen, married Ruth Arguelles, a single mother, adopted Francisco and moved the three-member family to El Paso, Texas. Francisco studied at Spring Hill College and then went on to get a M.A from Harvard University and a J.D from Columbia University. He worked as an attorney for affordable housing until his retirement from the practice of law in 2015. Francisco is the author of seven novels, including Marcelo in the Real World, recipient of the Schneider Award, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, recipient of the Elizabeth Walden Award, The Memory of Light was the recipient of the Tomás Rivera Book Award and received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly. His latest novel, Disappeared, received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal and The Horn Book and was a 2108 Walter Dean Myers Award Honor Book.
Middle-Grade Reading in the Digital Age — Saturday 10:00 AM
Elinor Teele is a children’s author and playwright who graduated with a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2005. Her comic adventure, The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin (ages 8-12) was published in 2016. Her new book, The Treasure of Mad Doc Magee (ages 8-12), will be published in August 2018. Elinor spent some of her formative years in New Zealand, but she currently lives in Gloucester. You can visit her online at www.elinorteele.com.
