Author Bios

Jerry Spinelli was born on February 1, 1941, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the kind of typical American small-town environment that would become the characteristic setting for much of his fiction. He attended Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University, where he earned an M.A. in writing, and worked for many years as an…

Jennifer Lynn Barnes was born on June 10, 1986, in Oklahoma, and grew up with a love of psychology, genetics, and the kinds of stories that explore how human beings think and what drives their behavior. She earned a bachelor’s degree in cognitive science from Yale University, a master’s degree in evolutionary anthropology from Cambridge…

Philip Pullman was born on October 19, 1946, in Norwich, England, and grew up in a family shaped by frequent moves — his father died when Pullman was seven, his mother remarried a Royal Air Force officer, and the family lived in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Australia before returning to England. He studied English at…

Kevin Craig is a Canadian author of fiction for young adults whose work explores the experiences and challenges of LGBTQ+ youth with honesty, compassion, and a deep respect for the resilience of his characters. Drawing on his own experiences as a gay man and his work with young people as an educator and mentor, Craig…

Rosaria Munda is an American author whose debut novel announced the arrival of a distinctive and ambitious voice in young adult epic fantasy. Munda studied classics at the University of Chicago, and her deep engagement with ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, and political philosophy has profoundly shaped her fiction. She approaches the genre of…

Kwame Alexander was born on August 21, 1968, in New York City, and grew up in a household that vibrated with language, literature, and a deep reverence for the written word — his father, who was a publisher, instilled in him from an early age the belief that books and stories are transformative tools for…

Alexander Romanov is an author whose work in fiction for young readers brings a distinctive perspective to the stories he tells. Writing with an understanding of the themes and concerns that resonate most deeply with young audiences — adventure, identity, belonging, and the search for one’s place in the world — Romanov has developed a…

Joy McCullough is an American author of fiction and drama for young adults whose work is characterized by its emotional depth, its formal inventiveness, and its commitment to centering the stories of women and girls who have been historically silenced or overlooked. McCullough draws on theatre and drama as influences on her work — she…

Darcie Little Badger is a Lipan Apache scientist and author whose speculative fiction brings Indigenous perspectives, particularly those of the Lipan Apache people, to the forefront of contemporary fantasy and science fiction for young adults. She holds a PhD in oceanography from Texas A&M University, and her scientific background gives her writing a grounded precision…

Hannah Gold is a British author whose debut novel established her as an exciting new voice in middle grade fiction, particularly in the growing genre of environmental and conservation-themed stories for young readers. Gold grew up with a deep love of nature and wildlife that informs her writing at every level — she writes about…