Mike Thayer
Mike Thayer is a proud father of three, lucky husband of one, passionate author, budding podcaster, lifelong gamer, viral blogger, degreed engineer, decent impressionist, inept hunter, erstwhile jock, and nerd.
He has cast a ring on the slopes of Mt. Doom, eaten a feast at the Green Dragon Inn, cemented Excalibur in a sandstone block, tasted butter beer at Diagon Alley, built a secret door to his storage room, and written a few fantasy books. What else is left, really?
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Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi as indicated by her accent. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She can also still rap if needed. She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Meyers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give, was acquired by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins in a 13-house auction and will be published in spring 2017. Film rights have been optioned by Fox 2000 with George Tillman attached to direct and Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg set to star.
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Radiya Hafiza
Radiya Hafiza studied English Language and Literature at King’s College London and worked in publishing for a few years. She is behind the fantastic blog The Good Assistant. Radiya grew up reading classic Western fairy tales that never had any brown girls in them - Rumaysa is her debut novel, bringing such stories to children who need to see themselves represented.
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Celia Krampien
Celia Krampien grew up in a house in the woods on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada, and spent her childhood reading, observing the local wildlife, and climbing trees. She currently lives in Oakville , Ontario, with her partner, and enjoys working alongside her silly cat and going for long walks with her nosy beagle. Celia's illustrations have appeared in children's books, newspapers, and magazines.
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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.
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Radiya Hafiza
Radiya Hafiza studied English Language and Literature at King’s College London and worked in publishing for a few years. She is behind the fantastic blog The Good Assistant. Radiya grew up reading classic Western fairy tales that never had any brown girls in them - Rumaysa is her debut novel, bringing such stories to children who need to see themselves represented.
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Meggie Ramm
Meggie Ramm is a cartoonist and comic teacher with an MFA in comics who runs an education comic podcast called Pop! Whiz! Bang!
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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.
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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.
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Victoria Piontek
Victoria Piontek is the author of The Spirit of Cattail County, a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year and a Sequoyah Children’s Masterlist selection. As a kid, she was lucky to have a menagerie of pets, including a goat that liked to follow her to the school bus each morning. When she's not writing, you can find her hiking with her gigantic fluffy dog.
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Emma Steinkellner
Emma Steinkellner is an illustrator, cartoonist, and writer based in Los Angeles, CA.
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She is the author and illustrator of the middle grade graphic novel The Okay Witch (Aladdin, Fall 2019). The Okay Witch tells the story of 13-year-old Moth Hush, who learns that magic is to be expected when you're a Hush in an adventure that spans centuries, generations, and even worlds as Moth unravels the complicated legacy of witches at the heart of her town, her family, and herself.
She is a graduate of Stanford University's department of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, where she created, wrote, and illustrated her thesis It Gets Weird, a science fiction sex ed graphic novel for adolescent readers and where she proclaimed herself "one of Stanfo -
Tom Sullivan
Tom Sullivan is an author, illustrator, and graphic designer based in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied at the New England Institute of Art where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design.
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After spending the first ten years of his career as a freelance Art Director and Designer, Tom switched gears to pursue his love of storytelling. He is the author and illustrator of the Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins picture books I Used To Be A Fish, BLUE vs. YELLOW, Out There and the graphic novel series Unsolved Case Files. -
Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi as indicated by her accent. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She can also still rap if needed. She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Meyers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give, was acquired by Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins in a 13-house auction and will be published in spring 2017. Film rights have been optioned by Fox 2000 with George Tillman attached to direct and Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg set to star.
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Christina Soontornvat
Christina Soontornvat grew up behind the counter of her parents’ Thai restaurant in a small Texas town with her nose stuck in a book. She is very proud of both her Thai and her Texan roots, and makes regular trips to both Weatherford and Bangkok to see her beloved family members (and eat lots and lots of Thai food!). Christina is the author of the fantasy middle grade series, The Changelings, and the early chapter book series, Diary of an Ice Princess. Her forthcoming books include the middle grade fantasy, A Wish in the Dark, and All Thirteen, a nonfiction account of the Thai Cave Rescue.
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In addition to being an author, Christina holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Science Education. She spent a decade working i -
Sally J. Pla
Sally J. Pla is the author of ALA Schneider Award-winning THE FIRE, THE WATER, AND MAUDIE McGINN, the Dolly Gray Award-winning THE SOMEDAY BIRDS, and other acclaimed novels and picture books. Her work has gained many awards and starred reviews, and has been included on many state awards lists and “best book” roundups.
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Sally has appeared on television and radio as an author and neurodiversity advocate. She also runs A Novel Mind, an online resource for neurodiversity/mental-health/disability representation in children's lit.
Sally believes in the beauty of different brains. We are all stars shining with different lights.
For more, visit her website at sallyjpla.com . -
Sharee Miller
Sharee Miller has a BFA in communication design from Pratt Institute. She lives in Brooklyn, where she enjoys spending time with her two cats and illustrating fun stories.
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Sydney Dunlap
Sydney Dunlap is an award-winning author and former elementary school teacher who has worked extensively with youth facing challenging circumstances. She enjoys reading and writing heartfelt, hopeful books that explore tough topics not often addressed in middle grade literature. Her 2023 debut novel, IT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY, tackles social media safety and has received a Crystal Kite Honor, several medals, and is featured on four state reading lists. Her subsequent novel, RACING THE CLOUDS, received a starred review from School Library Journal and was praised by Highlights Foundation for its outstanding mental health representation. A lifelong animal lover, Sydney lives with her husband and their two dogs and three cats, all rescues. You ca
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Erin Frankel
Erin Frankel is a children’s book author. She loves telling stories of empathy and wonder. Her picture books include A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen, which is an Orbis Pictus Award Recommended Title and a Texas Blue Bonnet Award Nominee, as well as Remembering Barkley, and the Weird! series. Forthcoming titles include Mary Oliver, Holding on to Wonder (2025) and Piece by Piece: How Stephen Sondheim Made Musical Puzzles Come Alive (2026). Erin lives with her family in Pittsburgh, where she writes, teaches, and hopes. She is represented by Lindsay Auld at Writers House. You can also connect with her on Instagram @erinfrankelwrites
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Stacy McAnulty
Stacy McAnulty is a children’s book author, who used to be a mechanical engineer, who’s also qualified to be a paleontologist (NOT REALLY), a correspondent for The Daily Show (why not), and a Green Bay Packer coach (totally!). She is the 2017 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor Recipient for Excellent Ed, illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach. Her other picture books include Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, illustrated by David Litchfield; Brave and Beautiful, both illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff; Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite, illustrated by Edward Hemingway; and 101 Reasons Why I’m Not Taking a Bath, illustrated by Joy Ang. She’s also authored the chapter book series Goldie Blox, based on the award-winning toys, and The Dino Fil
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Celia Krampien
Celia Krampien grew up in a house in the woods on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada, and spent her childhood reading, observing the local wildlife, and climbing trees. She currently lives in Oakville , Ontario, with her partner, and enjoys working alongside her silly cat and going for long walks with her nosy beagle. Celia's illustrations have appeared in children's books, newspapers, and magazines.
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Erin Bow
TEN THINGS ABOUT ME:
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1. I'm a physicist turned poet turned YA novelist.
2. I am world-famous in Canada, which is kind of like being world-famous in real life.
3. I write books for young readers and people like me who didn't grow up. All my books will either will make you either cry on the bus or snort milk out your nose. I am dangerous to your dignity and should be stopped.
4. I needed WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS to have a happy ending, so I wrote a middle-grade book called STAND ON THE SKY
5. I needed a book with a Spock-like hero who was also a queer girl, so I wrote THE SCORPION RULES, and its sequel THE SWAN RIDERS.
6. I think cats can actually talk, but don't find us worthy, hence PLAIN KATE.
7. I hate horror, so I wrote a horror: SORROW'S K -
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.
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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 -
Julie Buxbaum
Julie Buxbaum is the New York Times best selling author of Tell Me Three Things, her young adult debut, What to Say Next, Hope and Other Punchlines, and Admission (pubs 5/5/20). She’s also the author of two critically acclaimed novels for adults: The Opposite of Love and After You. Her work has been translated into twenty-five languages. Julie’s writing has appeared in various publications, including The New York Times. She is a former lawyer and graduate of Harvard Law School and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two children, and more books than is reasonable. Visit Julie online at www.juliebuxbaum.com and follow @juliebux on Twitter.
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Maryann Cocca-Leffler
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Maryann Cocca-Leffler of NH, is the Author and Illustrator of over
60 books for children. Maryann’s book, Janine (2015) and its new sequel, Janine and the Field Day Finish (2016), were inspired by her daughter, Janine. Together they have developed a corresponding website, www.janinesparty.com with a mission to help change public perception of children with disabilities. Other books include, A Homemade Together Christmas, Bus Route to Boston and Bravery Soup.
Now a playwright, Maryann wrote a play based on her Princess KIM books. Princess K.I.M. The Musical won a National New Play Festival in 2012 and has had sold out performances on the East and West coasts. Princess K.I.M. The Musical is now represented by Stagerights.com, a licensing agen -
Christina Soontornvat
Christina Soontornvat grew up behind the counter of her parents’ Thai restaurant in a small Texas town with her nose stuck in a book. She is very proud of both her Thai and her Texan roots, and makes regular trips to both Weatherford and Bangkok to see her beloved family members (and eat lots and lots of Thai food!). Christina is the author of the fantasy middle grade series, The Changelings, and the early chapter book series, Diary of an Ice Princess. Her forthcoming books include the middle grade fantasy, A Wish in the Dark, and All Thirteen, a nonfiction account of the Thai Cave Rescue.
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In addition to being an author, Christina holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Science Education. She spent a decade working i -
Steve Sheinkin
From: http://stevesheinkin.com/about/
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I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and my family lived in Mississippi and Colorado before moving back to New York and settling in the suburbs north of New York City. As a kid my favorite books were action stories and outdoor adventures: sea stories, searches for buried treasure, sharks eating people… that kind of thing. Probably my all-time favorite was a book called Mutiny on the Bounty, a novel based on the true story of a famous mutiny aboard a British ship in the late 1700s.
I went to Syracuse University and studied communications and international relations. The highlight of those years was a summer I spent in Central America, where I worked on a documentary on the streets of Nicaragua.
After college I moved -
Ginger Reno
Ginger Reno has always been a writer – it just took a while for her to figure that out. (Her first clue should have been her family always calling her “the wordy one.”) An enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, her desire to learn about Cherokee history and culture has naturally spilled over into her writing. FIND HER, her debut novel, is part of that journey. Ginger lives in northeast Oklahoma within the Cherokee Nation and likes to spend as much time as possible on her lakefront porch with her two favorite people—her husband and their twelve-year-old German shepherd.
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Katherine Pryor
Katherine Pryor is an award-winning children’s book author and good food advocate. She grew up in California and Arizona before moving to Seattle to study food and farming. Her books are widely used in school garden curriculum, nutrition education, and anti-hunger initiatives. In addition to writing, Katherine has worked to create better food choices at institutions, large corporations & food banks.
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She made her picture book debut with Sylvia’s Spinach, which is widely used to support nutrition education and school garden curriculum. Her second picture book, Zora's Zucchini, won the 2016 Growing Good Kids Book Award. Her third picture book, Bea's Bees, was called "a necessary addition to elementary library shelves as an important contributi -
Emma Bland Smith
Emma Bland Smith is the award-winning author of twelve book for children. Her debut picture book was Journey: Based on the True Story of OR7, the Most Famous Wolf in the West. Many of Emma’s books include animals—wolves, dogs, pigs, even alligators! Emma is a librarian and author and lives in San Francisco with her husband, two kids, dog, and cat—but no wolf, pig, or alligator. Visit her online at emmabsmith.com and on Twitter at @emmablandsmith.
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Emma Steinkellner
Emma Steinkellner is an illustrator, cartoonist, and writer based in Los Angeles, CA.
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She is the author and illustrator of the middle grade graphic novel The Okay Witch (Aladdin, Fall 2019). The Okay Witch tells the story of 13-year-old Moth Hush, who learns that magic is to be expected when you're a Hush in an adventure that spans centuries, generations, and even worlds as Moth unravels the complicated legacy of witches at the heart of her town, her family, and herself.
She is a graduate of Stanford University's department of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, where she created, wrote, and illustrated her thesis It Gets Weird, a science fiction sex ed graphic novel for adolescent readers and where she proclaimed herself "one of Stanfo -
Tom Sullivan
Tom Sullivan is an author, illustrator, and graphic designer based in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied at the New England Institute of Art where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design.
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After spending the first ten years of his career as a freelance Art Director and Designer, Tom switched gears to pursue his love of storytelling. He is the author and illustrator of the Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins picture books I Used To Be A Fish, BLUE vs. YELLOW, Out There and the graphic novel series Unsolved Case Files. -
Rebecca Stead
Rebecca Stead is the New York Times bestselling author of When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy, First Light, Goodbye Stranger, Bob, and, most recently, The List of Things That Will Not Change. Her books have been awarded the Newbery Medal, the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Fiction and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
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Rebecca lives in New York City, where she is always on the lookout for her next story idea. -
Lisa Yee
Lisa Yee has written over 20 novels. Her most recent book, Maizy Chen's Last Chance, is about a fifth-generation Chinese American girl, and is a National Book Award Finalist, Newbery Honor, and the Asian Pacific American Children's Literature Award winner.
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Lisa's debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, won the prestigious Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Other books include Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, Absolutely Maybe, and a series about a 4th grader, Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) and Bobby the Brave (Sometimes), illustrated by Dan Santat.
Lisa is also the author of several American Girl books and the DC Super Hero Girls series. A Thurber House Children’s Writer-in-Residence, Lisa's books have been named a NPR Best Summer Read, Sports Illust -
Gary D. Schmidt
Gary D. Schmidt is an American children's writer of nonfiction books and young adult novels, including two Newbery Honor books. He lives on a farm in Alto, Michigan,with his wife and six children, where he splits wood, plants gardens, writes, feeds the wild cats that drop by and wishes that sometimes the sea breeze came that far inland. He is a Professor of English at Calvin College.
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Maryann Cocca-Leffler
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Maryann Cocca-Leffler of NH, is the Author and Illustrator of over
60 books for children. Maryann’s book, Janine (2015) and its new sequel, Janine and the Field Day Finish (2016), were inspired by her daughter, Janine. Together they have developed a corresponding website, www.janinesparty.com with a mission to help change public perception of children with disabilities. Other books include, A Homemade Together Christmas, Bus Route to Boston and Bravery Soup.
Now a playwright, Maryann wrote a play based on her Princess KIM books. Princess K.I.M. The Musical won a National New Play Festival in 2012 and has had sold out performances on the East and West coasts. Princess K.I.M. The Musical is now represented by Stagerights.com, a licensing agen -
Victoria Piontek
Victoria Piontek is the author of The Spirit of Cattail County, a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year and a Sequoyah Children’s Masterlist selection. As a kid, she was lucky to have a menagerie of pets, including a goat that liked to follow her to the school bus each morning. When she's not writing, you can find her hiking with her gigantic fluffy dog.
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Lisa Yee
Lisa Yee has written over 20 novels. Her most recent book, Maizy Chen's Last Chance, is about a fifth-generation Chinese American girl, and is a National Book Award Finalist, Newbery Honor, and the Asian Pacific American Children's Literature Award winner.
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Lisa's debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, won the prestigious Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Other books include Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, Absolutely Maybe, and a series about a 4th grader, Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) and Bobby the Brave (Sometimes), illustrated by Dan Santat.
Lisa is also the author of several American Girl books and the DC Super Hero Girls series. A Thurber House Children’s Writer-in-Residence, Lisa's books have been named a NPR Best Summer Read, Sports Illust -
Sharee Miller
Sharee Miller has a BFA in communication design from Pratt Institute. She lives in Brooklyn, where she enjoys spending time with her two cats and illustrating fun stories.
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Jasbinder Bilan
According to family stories, Jasbinder was born in a stable in the foothills of the Himalayas. Until she was a year and a half, she lived on a farm inhabited by a grumpy camel and a monkey called Oma.
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Jasbinder graduated from Bath Spa University where the seeds of her story were nurtured, but it was the incredible bond with her grandmother which was the inspiration for Asha & the Spirit Bird.
She lives with her husband, two teenage boys and dog Enzo in a man pad and splits her time between teaching and writing. -
Stacy McAnulty
Stacy McAnulty is a children’s book author, who used to be a mechanical engineer, who’s also qualified to be a paleontologist (NOT REALLY), a correspondent for The Daily Show (why not), and a Green Bay Packer coach (totally!). She is the 2017 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor Recipient for Excellent Ed, illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach. Her other picture books include Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, illustrated by David Litchfield; Brave and Beautiful, both illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff; Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s the Favorite, illustrated by Edward Hemingway; and 101 Reasons Why I’m Not Taking a Bath, illustrated by Joy Ang. She’s also authored the chapter book series Goldie Blox, based on the award-winning toys, and The Dino Fil
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Meggie Ramm
Meggie Ramm is a cartoonist and comic teacher with an MFA in comics who runs an education comic podcast called Pop! Whiz! Bang!
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Ben Gartner
Ben Gartner is the award-winning author of adventure books for middle graders. His stories take readers for a thrilling ride, maybe even teaching them something on the journey. Ben can be found living and writing near the mountains with his wife and two boys. More info at BenGartner.com.
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