C. J. Hong is a children’s writer with a passion for promoting literacy. With her stories, she hopes to help foster a love of reading in children. C. J. can often be found at the library, checking out as many books as she can carry. In her spare time, she loves to dance, practice Kung Fu Fan, volunteer at an elementary school and spend time with family and friends. She lives with her husband in Ottawa, Ontario.

Suma Subramaniam is the author of the picture books A Bindi Can Be … , The Runaway Dosa, Namaste Is a Greeting and She Sang for India. Her writing also appeared in The Hero Next Door, a collection of short stories from We Need Diverse Books. Suma holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Born in Bangalore, India, she now lives near Seattle, Washington.

JaNay Brown-Wood is an award-winning author, poet, educator and scholar. She is the author of Imani’s Moon, Amara’s Farm and Miguel’s Community Garden, among other books for young readers. JaNay is a professor of early childhood education at California State University. She lives with her family near Sacramento, California.

Robin Stevenson is the award-winning author of more than thirty books of fiction and nonfiction for young readers of all ages. Her books have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff Award and a Stonewall Award Honor, and have been finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Award and many reader’s choice awards. Robin was the Book and Periodical Council of Canada’s Champion of Free Expression for 2022. In 2023, she was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence. She lives on the west coast of Canada with her family.#Follow Robin on Bluesky: @robinstevenson.bsky.social

Amanda West Lewis is a writer, theater artist, and calligrapher. She is the author of ten books, including the collection A Planet Is a Poem (Kids Can Press, 2024), a book that combines science and poetry. Amanda’s novels reflect her desire to explore the choices that young people make as they face challenges in their lives. #Amanda’s writing is also informed by working with young people in theater, and she recently created a staged version of A Planet Is a Poem with young performers at The Ottawa Children’s Theatre. #Amanda has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, with a specialization in picture books. Originally trained in theater performance, she has acted, directed, produced and written for theater. As a calligraphic book artist, she has done extensive study on the development of written forms. Her first book, Writing: A Fact and Fun Book (KCP, 1990), takes children on a letter-based journey from cave art to computers.#Throughout Amanda’s work runs her passion for language, movement and the thrill of asking questions.#When not writing, teaching or making art, Amanda can usually be found in her gardens in the woods of Eastern Ontario, where she lives with her husband, author Tim Wynne-Jones. Her children and grandchildren inspire her to stay curious and keep asking questions.