Booked for the Evening

Nic Stone is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the young adult series, Dear Martin. A Spelman College graduate, Nic lives in Atlanta with her family. Boom Town is her first adult novel.

The author of We Were Liars, Genuine Fraud, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and a number of other novels. www.emilylockhart.com

John Schu is the author of the companion book Ruthie Rose’s Big Idea: A Poetry Story, illustrated by Holly Hatam. He is also the author of the picture books This Is a School, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison, and This Is a Story, illustrated by Lauren Castillo, as well as the young adult novel Louder Than Hunger. He is a children’s librarian at Bookelicious and a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University. He was previously Scholastic’s Ambassador of School Libraries and has worked as a classroom teacher and school librarian. He travels all over the world visiting schools to advocate for the people and things he cares about most: kids, books, teachers, libraries, and librarians. John Schu lives in Naperville, Illinois. You can find his popular blog, Watch. Connect. Read., at www.JohnSchu.com and follow him @MrSchuReads.

Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal-winning and New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, Are We There Yet?, and After the Fall as well as the illustrator of many other picture books, including Crankenstein by Samantha Berger. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and various pets. He invites you to visit him online at dantat.com.

Kwame is a husband, father, writer, a New York Times bestselling author, and a former pharmaceutical metrologist in that order. His debut middle-grade novel, TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and it—along with the sequels TRISTAN STRONG DESTROYS THE WORLD and TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING, out October 5th—is published by Rick Riordan Presents/Disney-Hyperion. He is the co-author of LAST GATE OF THE EMPEROR with Prince Joel Makonnen, from Scholastic Books, and the editor of BLACK BOY JOY, a middle grade anthology from Delacourte, out August 3rd. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he survives on Dad jokes and Cheezits.

Anika Aldamuy Denise is the Pura Belpré Honor–winning author of Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré; A Girl Named Rosita: The Story of Rita Moreno: Actor, Singer, Dancer, Trailblazer!; and The Love Letter. A proud Puerto Rican daughter from Queens, she now lives in Rhode Island with her family. Visit Anika online at anikadenise.com.

Rosemary Wells is the creator of many unforgettable children's book characters, including Max and Ruby, McDuff, and Yoko, each of whom stars in their own book series. She is also the author of perennial favorites about universal childhood experiences, such as Noisy Nora and Read To Your Bunny. Rosemary Wells lives in upstate New York.

Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medal winner for A Single Shard and #1 New York Times bestseller for A Long Walk to Water, is the renowned author of picture books and novels for young readers. She lives in Western New York. Learn more at lindasuepark.com.