Authors Similar like Sarah J. Mendonca

Mary Averling

Mary Averling grew up across England and Canada, never far from the woods. She has degrees from the University of Victoria and Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. Her debut, The Curse of Eelgrass Bog, was a Bram Stoker Award Finalist, a Junior Library Gold Standard Selection, an ALA Rainbow List Pick, and one of BookPage's Top 10 Books of 2024. Since she can't stay away from libraries for very long, she is currently working toward her PhD in Ontario, where she lives surrounded by all the magical, spooky, heartfelt books she can find.

She is represented by Kelly Sonnack at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

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Leslie Vedder

Leslie Vedder (she/her) is a queer ace author who loves girl adventurers and heroes! She grew up on fantasy books, anime, fanfiction and the Lord of the Rings movies, and met her true love in high school choir. She currently lives in Colorado with her wife and two spoiled house cats.

When she's not reading or writing, you can find her watching anime and sci-fi shows, walking in the woods and pretending they're enchanted forests, or playing old video games. She always collects all the Skulltulas in Zelda and all the Dalmation puppies in Kingdom Hearts.

Her debut YA THE BONE SPINDLE was an ABA indie bestseller.

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Alby C. Williams

Alby C. Williams hails from the land of snow and salt potatoes. They are a storyteller, poet and artist of dubious skill but endless enthusiasm. If you catch them in their spare time, you might mistake them for a cat based on the amount of yarn in their immediate vicinity, but don't be fooled---they're actually several pigeons in a trench coat. Visit them at albycwilliams.com.

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Ryan James Black

Ryan James Black is a writer from Manitoba, Canada, where he lives with his wife, two kids, and curmudgeonly bulldog, Frank. A history enthusiast with a penchant for horror and the perpetual sense of humor of an eleven-year-old, Ryan writes books that attempt to combine all three: mirth, macabre, and twists of real life stranger-than-fiction history. When not writing Ryan enjoys football, scary movies, and exploring the Great Outdoors with his family.

His debut middle grade historical fantasy, The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham, is forthcoming from Nancy Paulsen Books in August, 2025.

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Nicole M. Hewitt

Nicole M. Hewitt is a middle grade author living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, three grown kids, and two overly-enthusiastic pups. She first flexed her creative muscles as a theatre major at the University of Illinois and later taught theatre, writing, and ELA at a large homeschool co-op. More recently, she worked as the Kids’ Specialist at her local Barnes & Noble. Nicole’s debut middle grade fantasy novel-in-verse, THE SONG OF ORPHAN’S GARDEN was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

For info on school visits and speaking engagements: https://nicolemhewitt.com/visits-events/

For a discussion guide & other resources: https://nicolemhewitt.com/resources/

Nicole is represented by Deborah Warren at East/West Litera

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Claire Hatcher-Smith

Claire is a speech and language therapist, with a masters in special education.
Originally from the UK, she now lives surrounded by sea on Vancouver Island, with her husband, their son and a Korean rescue dog. Neurodivergent herself, when she isn't writing, Claire runs peer-support groups for autistic tweens and teens.

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Shana Targosz

Shana Targosz writes about magical girls, budding friendships, ghosts who may or may not be friendly, and fiercely held hope. She is an Oregon Literary Arts Fellow and the 2021 recipient of the Edna L. Holmes Fellowship for Young Readers. Her debut novel is The Underwild: River of Spirits (Aladdin books - March 25, 2025). When not writing or reading through a stack of books, she spends her time playing Zelda with her son, designing solo journaling games, walking her domesticated monster disguised as a Labradoodle, and dreaming up different worlds.

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Cindy Chang

Cindy Chang was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and holds degrees in education and computer science. She works as a digital product designer in addition to writing and illustrating children’s books. How to Draw a Secret is her first book.

Say hi on Instagram @cindobindo or cindychang.com

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Claire Hatcher-Smith

Claire is a speech and language therapist, with a masters in special education.
Originally from the UK, she now lives surrounded by sea on Vancouver Island, with her husband, their son and a Korean rescue dog. Neurodivergent herself, when she isn't writing, Claire runs peer-support groups for autistic tweens and teens.

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Alby C. Williams

Alby C. Williams hails from the land of snow and salt potatoes. They are a storyteller, poet and artist of dubious skill but endless enthusiasm. If you catch them in their spare time, you might mistake them for a cat based on the amount of yarn in their immediate vicinity, but don't be fooled---they're actually several pigeons in a trench coat. Visit them at albycwilliams.com.

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Allie Millington

Allie first wrote her debut novel, OLIVETTI, on her own antique typewriter--who turned out to have an awful lot to say. She lives with her husband, their dog Crumpet, and a collection of clacking machines. You can find her on instagram (@allieinink) or possibly in her pillow fort.

Allie's second Middle Grade novel, ONCE FOR YES, releases with Macmillan Publishers in 2025. She has two picture books that will quickly follow, WHEN YOU FIND A HOPE and WHEN YOU FIND A QUESTION (Hachette Book Group).

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Nicole M. Hewitt

Nicole M. Hewitt is a middle grade author living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, three grown kids, and two overly-enthusiastic pups. She first flexed her creative muscles as a theatre major at the University of Illinois and later taught theatre, writing, and ELA at a large homeschool co-op. More recently, she worked as the Kids’ Specialist at her local Barnes & Noble. Nicole’s debut middle grade fantasy novel-in-verse, THE SONG OF ORPHAN’S GARDEN was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

For info on school visits and speaking engagements: https://nicolemhewitt.com/visits-events/

For a discussion guide & other resources: https://nicolemhewitt.com/resources/

Nicole is represented by Deborah Warren at East/West Litera

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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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Angela Hsieh

Angela Hsieh is a Taiwanese American author and illustrator whose choices are mostly explained by her love of goofy animals. Her life experiences include fireman-carrying a sedated bear cub and catching a belligerent wallaby. She has 1.5 cats.

She illustrated ANTARCTICA: THE MELTING CONTINENT, a critically acclaimed nonfiction book about real-life scientists and explorers. LU AND REN'S GUIDE TO GEOZOOLOGY is her first graphic novel.

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Tamika Burgess

Tamika Burgess is a storyteller with over a decade of novel, TV/film, and personal essay writing.

Born to parents who migrated from Panamá, Tamika has always taken a particular interest in writing themes that explore her Black Latina identity. Because of her passion for spreading knowledge of Black Panamanian culture, Tamika has been featured on various websites, podcasts, and panels.

When she is not writing, Tamika is somewhere cozy online shopping, sipping lemon ginger tea and reading, or listening to a podcast.

Tamika resides in sunny Southern California and is currently working on her second novel with HarperCollins, scheduled for Winter 2024.

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Cassandra Federman

Cassandra is an award-winning author/illustrator who grew up reading comic books, playing with action figures, and drawing superheroes. Over the course of her life, she has been many things — a hand model, a wrestler, a manatee rescuer, an actor, and a mystic wood elf — but her favorite so far has been an author/illustrator.

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Rosaria Munda

Rosaria Munda grew up in rural North Carolina, studied political theory at Princeton, and lives with her family in Florida. She is the internationally bestselling author of The Aurelian Cycle (Fireborne, Flamefall, and Furysong) and the forthcoming Confessions of a Junior Spy (Feiwel & Friends, 2025).

For book recs and updates, follow her on instagram: @rosariamunda

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Tiffany D. Jackson

Tiffany D. Jackson is the New York Times Bestselling author of YA novels including the Coretta Scott King — John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning Monday’s Not Coming, the NAACP Image Award-nominated Allegedly, Let Me Hear A Rhyme, and her 2020 title GROWN. She received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University, her master of arts in media studies from the New School, and has over a decade in TV/Film experience. The Brooklyn native is a lover of naps, cookie dough, and beaches, currently residing in the borough she loves, most likely multitasking.

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Ryan James Black

Ryan James Black is a writer from Manitoba, Canada, where he lives with his wife, two kids, and curmudgeonly bulldog, Frank. A history enthusiast with a penchant for horror and the perpetual sense of humor of an eleven-year-old, Ryan writes books that attempt to combine all three: mirth, macabre, and twists of real life stranger-than-fiction history. When not writing Ryan enjoys football, scary movies, and exploring the Great Outdoors with his family.

His debut middle grade historical fantasy, The Dark Times of Nimble Nottingham, is forthcoming from Nancy Paulsen Books in August, 2025.

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José Pimienta

Jo Pi's almost full name is Jose Pimienta. They reside in Burbank, California where they draw comics, storyboards and sketches for visual development. They have worked with Random House Graphic, Iron Circus Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Disney Digital Network, and more.

During their upbringing in the city of Mexicali, Mexico Jo was heavily influenced by animation, music and short stories. After high school, they ventured towards the state of Georgia where they studied at Savannah College of Art and Design.

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Lindsey Leavitt

Lindsey Leavitt is a Leo sun/Sagittarius rising, which makes her skilled at traveling, studying and sleeping in. She grew up in Las Vegas and now lives in the snowy mountains with her big, blended family. She is the author of over fifteen books for kids and teens. Lindsey had an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Visit her online at https://lindseyleavitt.com

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Meg Medina

Meg Medina served as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was also a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist, and which was followed by two more acclaimed books about the Suárez family: Merci Suárez Can’t Dance and Merci Suárez Plays It Cool. Her young adult novels include Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which won the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award, and which was published in 2023 as a graphic novel illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas; Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She is also the author of picture books No More Señora Mimí / No más Señora Mimí, Evelyn Del Rey

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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.

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James Ponti

James Ponti is the New York Times Bestselling author of three Middle Grade book series: the DEAD CITY trilogy about a secret society that polices the undead who live beneath New York City; the Edgar Award-winning FRAMED! series about a pair of Sherlockian tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, D.C.; and the all-new CITY SPIES about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 spy team.

James grew up in Atlantic Beach, Florida and lives in Orlando. He's a die hard fan of the Boston Red Sox, the USC Trojans, and the Italian National Soccer Team. He loves travel, writing, and spending time with his amazing family.

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Rachel Hartman

Rachel Hartman lives and writes in Vancouver, BC.

Her first YA fantasy novel, Seraphina, was published by Random House on July 10th, 2012. Here are some things that are already being said about Seraphina by some fabulous authors:

“A book worth hoarding, as glittering and silver-bright as dragon scales, with a heroine who insists on carving herself a place in your mind.” — Naomi Novik, New York Times bestselling author of the Temeraire series.

“Seraphina is strong, complex, talented — she makes mistakes and struggles to trust, with good reason, and she fights to survive in a world that would tear her apart. I love this book!” — Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author.

“Just when you thought there was nothing new to say about dragons, it

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Stan Yan

Stan is an award-winning, first generation American-born-Chinese, Denver-based writer, illustrator, caricature artist and instructor.

He helped to co-found the Squid Works comic creator cooperative, was a board member of the Colorado Alliance of Illustrators and is currently the co-Regional Advisor for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (RMC-SCBWI), and a member of the Cuddlefish Gang art “cuddlective.”

His work has been seen in THE SUNDAY HA HA, VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS (BlueWater Productions / Storm Comics / Tidal Wave), THERE’S A ZOMBIE IN THE BASEMENT (Squid Works Kids), DENVER COMIX, KITE TALES, the RMC-SCBWI annual calendar, THE QUEUING DEAD (British zombie anthology), POP CULTURE CLASS

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Alison McGhee

Alison McGhee writes novels, picture books, poems, and essays for all ages, including the just-published THE OPPOSITE OF FATE, a novel, and the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller SOMEDAY, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Her work has been translated into more than 20 languages. She lives in Minneapolis and California.

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Jenna Lee-Yun

Jenna was a voracious reader as a child and adolescent but found there were never enough books to read. Moreover, there were no books featuring protagonists who looked like her.

Now, Jenna continues to read as much as she can and finds there is never enough time to get ahead of her TBR pile. She is overjoyed to see so much more diversity (including Asian-American protagonists) in children's books than she could have imagined as a young reader!

Jenna resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, son, daughter, and mini-goldendoodle. She loves nothing more than writing middle-grade and young adult novels with a large cup of coffee. Jenna is represented by Emily Forney at BookEnds Literary Agency. THE LAST RHEE WITCH is her debut novel.

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Lisa Schmid

Lisa Schmid is an author and co-host of the podcast Writers With Wrinkles. When not scaring up ghostly adventures, she visits schools and libraries to discuss writing and books. She lives in Northern California with her husband, son, two dogs, and one very sneaky hamster.

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Karuna Riazi

Karuna Riazi is a born and raised New Yorker, with a loving, large extended family and the rather trying experience of being the eldest sibling in her particular clan. She holds a BA in English Literature from Hofstra University, and is an online diversity advocate, blogger, and educator. She is a 2017 honoree on NBC Asian America's Redefining A-Z list, featuring up and coming talent within the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, and her work has been featured on Entertainment Weekly, Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, Book Riot and Teen Vogue, among others.

Karuna is fond of tea, Korean dramas, writing about tough girls forging their own paths toward their destinies, and baking new delectable treats for friends and family to relish.

The

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Sarah J. Mendonca

Total similar authors (30)