Brenda Woods
Brenda Woods was born in Ohio, grew up in Southern California, and attended California State University, Northridge. Her award-winning books for young readers include The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond (a CCBC choice and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book); the Coretta Scott King Honor winner The Red Rose Box; the ALAN Pick Saint Louis Armstrong Beach; and VOYA Top Shelf Fiction selection Emako Blue. Woods’s numerous awards and honors include the Judy Lopez Memorial Book Award, the FOCAL International Award, and the ILA Children’s Choice Young Adult Fiction Award. She lives in the Los Angeles area.
If you like author Brenda Woods here is the list of authors you may also like
Buy books on AmazonTotal similar authors (23)
-
Sarah Mlynowski
Sarah was born in Montreal, Canada. After graduating with an honors degree in English literature from McGill University, she moved to Toronto to work for Harlequin Enterprises. While she never met Fabio, she used her romance publishing experiences to fuel her first novel Milkrun.
Buy books on Amazon
Since then, Sarah has written four additional novels for adults: Fishbowl, As Seen on TV, Monkey Business, and Me vs. Me; the New York Times bestselling middle grade series Whatever After; the middle grade series Upside-Down Magic (with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins); and the teen novels Bras & Broomsticks, Frogs & French Kisses, Spells & Sleeping Bags, and Parties & Potions (all in the Magic in Manhattan series), as well as Gimme a Call, Ten Things We Did (And -
Sharon Creech
I was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).
Buy books on Amazon
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of us Creeches, but also full of friends and visiting relatives.
In the summer, we usually took a trip, all of us piled in a car and heading out to Wisconsin or Michigan or, once, to Idaho. We must have been a very noisy bunch, and I'm not sure how our parents put up with being cooped up with us in the car for those trips. The five-day trip out to Ida -
Gennifer Choldenko
There’s a Lego in my bum which fits with the Lego in my chair and when I sit down to write, I hear the satisfying snap of the two pieces fitting together. I love words, dictionaries, thesauruses, sharp pencils, the smell of book ink and the delicious art of carving out sentences on clean white paper. I love to slip into another person’s skin and feel what it’s like to live another life. I love when characters come to me out of nowhere and make me cry so hard my mascara runs or laugh until my stomach hurts. I love the crazy fun and infinite possibility of storytelling.
Buy books on Amazon
What prepared me for a life of writing fiction? Though I have a BA from Brandeis University in English and American Literature and a BFA in illustration from Rhode Island Schoo -
Candace Fleming
I have always been a storyteller. Even before I could write my name, I could tell a good tale. And I told them all the time. As a preschooler, I told my neighbors all about my three-legged cat named Spot. In kindergarten, I told my classmates about the ghost that lived in my attic. And in first grade I told my teacher, Miss Harbart, all about my family's trip to Paris, France.
Buy books on Amazon
I told such a good story that people always thought I was telling the truth. But I wasn't. I didn't have a three-legged cat or a ghost in my attic, and I'd certainly never been to Paris, France. I simply enjoyed telling a good story... and seeing my listener's reaction.
Sure, some people might have said I was a seven-year old fibber. But not my parents. Instead of calli -
Wendy Mass
Wendy Mass is the author of thirty novels for young people, including A Mango-Shaped Space, which was awarded the Schneider Family Book Award, Leap Day, the Twice Upon a Time fairy tale series, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall, the Willow Falls, Space Taxi and Candymakers series. Wendy wrote the storyline for an episode of the television show Monk, entitled "Mr. Monk Goes to the Theatre," which aired during the show's second season. She tells people her hobbies are hiking and photography, but really they're collecting candy bar wrappers and searching for buried treasure with her metal detector. Wendy lives with her family in New Jersey.
Buy books on Amazon -
Margarita Engle
Margarita Engle is a Cuban-American poet, novelist, and journalist whose work has been published in many countries. She lives with her husband in northern California.
Buy books on Amazon -
Susan Hood
Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including Ada's Violin; Lifeboat 12; The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics; Shaking Things Up; Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team; and We Are One: How the World Adds Up.
Buy books on Amazon
Susan is the recipient of an E. B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book Honor, the Christopher Award, the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, the Golden Kite Award, and the Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, given annually for “a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration to young people.”
COMING IN MARCH, 2022!
Susan's newest book is Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis. Co-authored with Anna's (a.k.a. Zhanna's) son Gr -
Lauren Wolk
Lauren Wolk is an award-winning poet and author of the bestselling Newbery Honor–winning Wolf Hollow, described by the New York Times Book Review as "full of grace and stark, brutal beauty." She was born in Baltimore and has since lived in California, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Canada, and Ohio. She now lives with her family on Cape Cod.
Buy books on Amazon -
Katherine Applegate
#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.
Buy books on Amazon
Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books); and ODDER: AN OTTER’S STORY, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Feiwel & Friends).
She’s written or co-written three early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alde -
Kiera Cass
100 Things I Love:
Buy books on Amazon
Being married. Cake. The smell of Autumn. Motherhood. Books. Elephants. Back rubs. On demand movies. Actually going out to movies. Faith. Cinnamon rolls. My family. Butterflies. When my kitchen is clean. Crayons. Pink. Tote bags. Dancing. Organizing via color coordination. That my wedding dress was tea length, not floor. Baking. My house. Writing utensils. Paper. India. The sound of water. Making videos. Buttons. The word Episcopalian. Making people laugh. Layering clothes. British accents. Pinterest. Animation. Fireworks. The smell of the Ocean. My wedding rings. Aprons. Reasons to get dressed up. Sex. Pop music. Stars. Taking walks. Daydreaming. Stickers. School Spirit. My friends. Living in a small town. Japan. Singing. -
Ruta Sepetys
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author and Winner of the Carnegie Medal.
Buy books on Amazon
Ruta Sepetys was born and raised in Michigan in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. The daughter of a refugee, Ruta is drawn to underrepresented stories of strength through struggle and hopes to give voice to those who weren't able to tell their story. Her award-winning historical novels are published in over sixty countries and have received over forty literary prizes.
For more information:
https://www.rutasepetys.com
https://www.facebook.com/rutasepetys
https://www.instagram.com/rutasepetys...
https://www.twitter.com/rutasepetys -
Laura Shovan
Laura Shovan is a children's novelist, arts educator, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. Her chapbook, Mountain, Log, Salt, and Stone won the inaugural Harriss Poetry Prize. She has edited literary journals and anthologies. Laura Shovan’s middle grade debut, THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY, won multiple awards including the Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for New Voices honor book. Her middle grade sports novel TAKEDWON was selected for Junior Library Guild, PJ Our Way, and the ALA’s RISE Project. A PLACE AT THE TABLE, co-written with Saadia Faruqi, was a Sydney Taylor Notable. Laura is a longtime poet-in-the-schools and serves on the faculty of Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in writing for children and young adults. Her firs
Buy books on Amazon -
Fleur T. Bradley
Fleur (F.T.) Bradley is the author of Double Vision and the (spooky) middle-grade mystery Midnight at the Barclay Hotel (Viking Children’s, Aug. 2020), set in the fictional Barclay Hotel, inspired by the Stanley. Her story “The Perfect Alibi” appeared in Mystery Writers of America’s middle-grade anthology Super Puzzletastic Mysteries, edited by Chris Grabenstein (June 2020, HarperCollins). She regularly does school and Skype visits, as well as librarian and educator conference talks on reaching reluctant readers. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and two daughters, and entirely too many cats.
Buy books on Amazon
For more information on Fleur and her books, visit www.ftbradley.com or follow her on Twitter @FTBra -
Lindsay Currie
Lindsay Currie is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of mysteries for young readers, including the Delta Games series and It's Watching, She grew up on Nancy Drew and loves a good twisty tale. When she's not writing, Lindsay can generally be found looking for an adventure of her own. She loves researching forgotten history and recently relocated from Chicago to a 220 acre farm in downstate Illinois where she finally gets to see stars every night, and take hikes every day.
Buy books on Amazon
Coming soon: THE HOUSE WITH NO KEYS (October 2025) and X Marks the Haunt (February 2026)! For more details on Lindsay's upcoming books, please visit the My Books tab at the top of the page.
To find out more about Lindsay, please visit her website at www. -
Jasmine Warga
Jasmine Warga is a writer from Cincinnati, Ohio who currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. She is the internationally bestselling author of My Heart and Other Black Holes and Here We Are Now. Her books have been published in over twenty-five countries and optioned for film. Her debut middle grade novel, Other Words For Home, will be published in Spring 2019. Jasmine lives in an apartment filled with books with her husband, two tiny daughters, large dog, and mischievous cat.
Buy books on Amazon
**I am only on Goodreads when one of my publishers sets up a Q&A for me, so the best way to contact me is through my website: www.jasminewarga.com or on twitter: @jasminewarga. Thank you so much for reading my books!** -
Kelly Yang
Kelly Yang is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of the FRONT DESK series, winner of the 2019 Asian Pacific American Award for Children's Literature. Her books include FRONT DESK, THREE KEYS, ROOM TO DREAM, PARACHUTES, NEW FROM HERE, and other middle grade and young adult novels. She was born in China and grew up in Los Angeles. She went to college at the age of 13 and graduated from UC Berkeley at the age of 17 and Harvard Law School at the age of 20. After law school, she founded The Kelly Yang Project, a writing and debating program for children in Asia. Prior to becoming a novelist, she wrote for many years for the South China Morning Post, The New York Times, Washington Post, and the Atlantic. She lives in Los Angeles
Buy books on Amazon -
Claire Swinarski
Claire Swinarski is the author of multiple books for both kids and adults. Her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, Seventeen, Milwaukee Magazine, and many other publications. She lives in small town Wisconsin with her husband and three kids, where she writes books, wears babies, and wrangles bread dough. You can follow her on Instagram @claireswinarski.
Buy books on Amazon -
Andrea Beatriz Arango
Andrea Beatriz Arango is the author of Newbery Honor Book Iveliz Explains It All and the Pura Belpré Honor Book Something Like Home. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she first became a teacher. She then spent a decade in the United States working in public schools and nonprofits. When she’s not busy writing about middle schoolers and their families, you can find her hoping to spot manatees at the beach. Andrea lives in Puerto Rico with her family and two dogs.
Buy books on Amazon -
Meg Eden Kuyatt
Meg Eden Kuyatt is a 2020 Pitch Wars mentee, and teaches creative writing at Anne Arundel Community College. She is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection “Drowning in the Floating World” (Press 53, 2020) and children’s novels, most recently “Good Different” (Scholastic, 2023). Find her online at www.megedenbooks.com or on Twitter at @ConfusedNarwhal and Instagram at @meden_author.
Buy books on Amazon -
Louise Meriwether
Louise Meriwether was an American novelist, essayist, journalist and activist, as well as a writer of biographies of historically important African Americans for children.
Buy books on Amazon -
Avi
Avi is a pen name for Edward Irving Wortis, but he says, "The fact is, Avi is the only name I use." Born in 1937, Avi has created many fictional favorites such as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Nothing but the Truth, and the Crispin series. His work is popular among readers young and old.
Buy books on Amazon -
Jennifer Roy
Jennifer Roy (see also Jennifer Rozines Roy) is an American children's writer. She is best known for fiction including Yellow Star, which won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award (2006), Sydney Taylor Honor Award, The William Allen White Children's Book Award (2009), a New York Public L Book, an ALA Notable Book, National Jewish Book Honor Award, and received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, VOYA and Booklist. She has written 35 educational books for children ages 5–16, including the "You Can Write" series.
Buy books on Amazon
Her latest book is Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein (February 2018), inspired by the true story of a young boy growing up in Iraq under the first Gulf war. Her Co-author Ali Fadhil was that boy and he grew -
Salvador Gómez-Colón
Salvador Gómez-Colón is a teenage climate-resilience and youth-empowerment advocate from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Buy books on Amazon
In 2017, after Hurricane Maria, he created Light and Hope for Puerto Rico, raising nearly $200,000 to distribute solar-powered lamps and hand-crank washing machines to 3,500 families. Since then, Gómez-Colón has launched other climate-resilience initiatives including responses to Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas and the 2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes.
A member of Marvel’s Hero Project, he’s received the Diana Award for socio-humanitarian work, the President's Environmental Youth Award, and is one of the World Economic Forum’s Ten Teenage Changemakers and TIME’s Most Influential Teens. Gómez-Colón publishes opinion writing and has con