Simon Boughton has worked as a book publisher for the last thirty years, most recently as the publishing director of Norton Young Readers. Among the books he has published are the National Book Award finalist Victory. Stand! and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry. Previously, he founded Roaring Brook Press, where books he edited and published include the Caldecott Medal winners My Friend Rabbit and The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. He divides his time between his home in Delaware County in upstate New York and New York City.

Kern Carter is the author of Boys and Girls Screaming, along with two self-published novels, Thoughts of a Fractured Soul (novella) and Beauty Scars. In addition to his writing, Kern is a filmmaker and also teaches professional writing at a local college, committed to supporting emerging writers and helping them find their voice. He lives in Toronto. 

Keila V. Dawson was born and raised in New Orleans. When she grew up, she traveled the world, working as a community organizer, teacher, school administrator, educational consultant, and advocate for children with special needs. Nowadays she lives in Cincinnati, where she writes books for children, including The King Cake Baby and Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book. She is also the coeditor of No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History and No World Too Big: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change. 

Minda Dentler is the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship. She has been featured on CNN and NBC, and was nominated for an ESPN ESPY Award for the best female athlete with a disability. She has also written for Huffington Post and TIME, promoting the eradication of polio, and has served as a global immunization advocate for Rotary International and the UN Foundation. In addition to being a mom, an athlete, and an activist, she is a motivational speaker. She shares her story with Fortune 500 companies, including Amazon and Microsoft; non-profits; and universities, urging listeners to find their own personal Ironman

Matt Eicheldinger wasn't always a writer. He spent most of his childhood playing soccer, reading comics, and trying his best to stay out of trouble. Little did he know those moments would ultimately help craft the first book in his debut novel series, Matt Sprouts and the Curse of Ten Broken Toes. Matt lives in Bloomington, Minnesota with his wife and two children, and tries to create new adventures with them whenever possible. When he's not writing, you can find him telling students stories in the classroom or trail running along the Minnesota River Bottoms. 

Known affectionately as “your family’s favorite author,” Tanisia “Tee” Moore writes uplifting work for all ages, from fiction and nonfiction picture books to adult novels. When Tee isn’t writing, she’s saving the world as a loving, compassionate (and sometimes crazy) lawyer, wife, and mother of three. Originally from Southern California, she now lives in the southern belle state of Alabama. 

David F. Walker is an award-winning comic book writer, author, filmmaker, journalist, and educator. His work in comic books includes Shaft, winner of the 2015 Glyph Award for Story of the Year; Luke Cage; Occupy Avengers; Power Man and Iron Fist; Nighthawk; Fury; Secret Wars: Battleworld (Marvel Comics); Cyborg (DC Comics); The Army of Dr. Moreau; Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes (Dark Horse/Boom); and Number 13 (Dark Horse Comics). In 2015, he wrote the novel Shaft’s Revenge, the first new novel starring private detective John Shaft in nearly 40 years. Recognized as a leading scholar and expert on African-American cinema, who has been interviewed by such news outlets as The Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, and BBC, Walker produced one of the definitive documentaries on the topic of Blaxploitation films. He lives in Portland, Oregon.