Bookable Authors: Upper Grades (8 12) English
MariNaomi
MariNaomi is the award-winning author and illustrator of four comic memoirs and creator of the Cartoonists of Color database. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and many cats and dogs. Visit her website at marinaomi.com. View →
Mary McCoy
Mary McCoy lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son. She works as a librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library. She is the author of Printz Honor Book I, Claudia. View →
Stephanie Sammartino McPherson
Stephanie Sammartino McPherson wrote her first children’s story in college. She enjoyed the process so much that she’s never stopped writing. A former teacher and freelance newspaper writer, she has written more than thirty books and numerous magazine stories. Her recent… View →
Marcia Argueta Mickelson
Marcia Argueta Mickelson was born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States as an infant. She attended high school in New Jersey and then graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in American Studies. She is the author of five novels including Star Shining Brightly, The… View →
Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Lyn Miller-Lachmann is an author, educator, and editor. Her novels include Torch, winner of the 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature, Gringolandia, Rogue, Moonwalking, and Eyes Open. She earned a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of… View →
J.N. Monk
J. N. Monk is a Midwesterner with a song in their heart. They’ve lived in a lighthouse, an active volcano, and Florida but always return to the heartland. They love travel, superheroes, food, and cats and wish that everyone knew the lyrics and steps to the musical number in their… View →
Stephanie Perry Moore
Stephanie Perry Moore was born in South Carolina and now lives with her family in Georgia. She is the author of many YA series, including the Lockwood Lions, the Grovehill Giants, and the Payton Skky series. View →
Marissa Moss
Marissa Moss is the award-winning author-illustrator of more than 75 books, from picture books to middle-grade to graphic novels. She is best known for the Amelia’s Notebook series, which has sold millions of copies. She lives in California. View →
Elizabeth Neal
Elizabeth Neal lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and daughter. They have a rescue dog who enjoys couch parkour, grumbling in her sleep, and things that squeak. Visit her online at efneal.com. View →
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is the author of The Book Itch, as well as three Coretta Scott King Award-winning books: No Crystal Stair, Bad News for Outlaws, and Almost to Freedom. She is a former youth services librarian in New Mexico. Visit her online at vaundanelson.com. View →
Emma K. Ohland
Emma K. Ohland (she/they) is an author who has been telling stories since before she knew how to write them down. She grew up in the middle of a cornfield in Indiana, but her imagination often carried her away to other worlds. She graduated from Purdue University with a B.A. in English… View →
Marius Pawlitza
Marius Pawlitza was born in Königshütte, Poland but grew up in Ludwigshafen, Germany with comics and video games. After studying communication design in Mainz he started his first job in an advertisement agency. Today he lives in Frankfurt, draws comics and works as a freelance… View →
Ashley Hope Pérez
Ashley Hope Pérez is the author of award-winning books for young adults, including What Can’t Wait, The Knife and the Butterfly, and Out of Darkness. Out of Darkness was described by The New York Times as a “layered tale of color lines, love and struggle” and was named one of Booklist’s… View →
Liz Prince
Liz Prince is the Ignatz Award-winning author of Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed? (Top Shelf Productions, 2005), the world’s cutest relationship comic. She is a regular columist for Razorcake magazine, has drawn covers and stories for the wildly popular Adventure Time… View →
NoNieqa Ramos
Raised in the Boogie Down Bronx, NoNieqa Ramos is an educator and literary activist. Their work includes the young adult novels The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary and The Truth Is, as well as the picture book Hair Story. They believe Halloween is a lifestyle, not a holiday. If… View →
Henrik Rehr
Henrik Rehr has been a cartoonist for more than thirty years. He was born in Denmark and lives with his family in New York City. View →
Sarah Richman
Sarah Richman is a writer, author, and poet based in Washington, DC, where she helps run a magic shop and writing center. Her work is published across the United States and Scotland. She likes good tea and bad jokes, and believes that well-told stories can change the world. View →
Trina Robbins
Writer and feminist herstorian Trina Robbins wrote books, comics, and graphic novels for over 40 years. Her work includes The Brinkley Girls (Fantagraphics), Forbidden City: the Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs (Hampton Press), and the three-part YA series Chicagoland Detective Agency… View →
Lois Ruby
Lois Ruby is a former librarian and the author of twenty-two books for young readers. She divides her time among family, community social action, research, writing, and visiting schools to energize young people about the ideas in books and the joys of reading. Lois lives in Cincinnati,… View →