Bookable Authors: Upper Grades (8 12) Social Studies
Dr. Artika R. Tyner
Dr. Artika Tyner is a passionate educator, award-winning author, civil rights attorney, sought-after speaker, and advocate for justice. She lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and is the founder of the Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute. View →
Michael Wertz
Michael Wertz is a commercial artist who creates images for books, products, ads, CDs, and movie trailers. He lives in Oakland, California, and teaches at the California College of the Arts in the illustration department. View →
Alyssa Wiegand
Alyssa Wiegand is a lifelong party-thrower and feeder-of-others. She held her first formal dinner party (we’re talking suits and prom dresses) in high school and has appeared in a Japanese magazine as a manga character serving Venezuelan arepas to the citizens of Tokyo. Her… View →
Lee Wind
Lee Wind is the founding blogger and publisher of I’m Here. I’m Queer. What The Hell Do I Read?, an award-winning website about books, culture, and empowerment for Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Questioning and Queer youth, and their Allies. He is the author of No Way, They Were… View →
Vicki Oransky Wittenstein
Vicki Wittenstein grew up in Maplewood, N.J., and has lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. with her husband and two children for many years. She received her BA in American Civilization and Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and her JD from Cornell Law School. After prosecuting… View →
Jane Yolen
Jane Yolen lives in Massachusetts and has written more than 400 books across all genres and age ranges, including the Sydney Taylor Honor book Miriam at the River. In 2022 she was named the The Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Winner. She has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America… View →
Christine Zuchora-Walske
Christine Zuchora-Walske grew up—and eventually settled down—in Minneapolis. But as a young adult, she spent some time gallivanting elsewhere, including the University of Notre Dame, London, the University of Denver, and a small town in the cornfields of Illinois. Along the way she… View →