Genre:
Middle Grade
Julie Schumacher
Julie Schumacher is the author of 11 books, including the national bestseller Dear Committee Members, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. She has published five novels for younger readers, including The Book of One Hundred Truths, winner of a Minnesota Book Award; and a satirical coloring book about higher education called Doodling for…
Nick Healy
Nick Healy writes fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. His short story collection, It Takes You Over, was a Friends of American Writers award winner and a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award in 2013. His stories have appeared in North American Review, Water~Stone Review, Speakeasy, Minnesota Monthly, Great River Review, and elsewhere. He…
Bonnie Graves
Author of children’s books, both fiction and non-fiction, and professional books on teaching reading, Bonnie Graves spent her growing-up years in Southern California. There she romped through childhood with her boy cousins and their pals and in her preteen years wrote and produced plays for family and neighbors. A former elementary school teacher, her work…
Cristina Oxtra
Cristina Oxtra is a Filipino American children’s book author. She earned an MFA in creative writing for children and young adults at Hamline University and a B.A. in journalism. She received The Loft Literary Center’s 2019-2020 Mirrors & Windows Fellowship for indigenous writers and writers of color and is a teaching artist at The Loft.…
Rosemond Owens
Rosemond Sarpong Owens loves the Lord, loves people, loves life, and loves to laugh. She is a storyteller with an infectious enthusiasm about life. She attended Wesley Girls’ High School in Cape Coast, Ghana, the University of Ghana, and University of Minnesota. Across the globe, she has developed a rainbow coalition – an amazing tribe…
V.T. Bidania
V.T. Bidania is the author of the Astrid and Apollo chapter book series, which is the first children’s book series to star Hmong American characters. She was born in Laos and grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, right where Astrid and Apollo live! She has an MFA in creative writing from the New School and…
Joan Marie Verba
Joan Marie Verba is an author, publisher, and web developer. An experienced writer, she is the author of the nonfiction books Voyager: Exploring the Outer Planets and Boldly Writing, as well as fiction such as Twelve, Defying the Ghosts, Sword of Queens, and Wondry Dragon Finds a Home, among many other books and short stories.…
Tom Xavier
Tom Xavier is the award-winning author of Neffatira’s First Challenge, described by Kirkus Reviews as a “rousing series opener with equal portions of action and social commentary” and Dark Curses, Faerie Dreams, recipient of a Mom’s Choice Awards Gold Seal in Juvenile Fiction, a 2018 Book Excellence Awards Finalist, and a Royal Dragonfly Book Awards…
Mary Bleckwehl
Mary Bleckwehl has spent her career promoting literacy and the love of learning. She taught for over 25 years and held administrative positions in higher education in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Minnesota. Bleckwehl grew up in a large farm family and quickly learned magic and grabbed every opportunity to read. Bleckwehl has three adult…
Matt Lilley
Matt Lilley has published more than 20 children’s books. He has an M.S. in Scientific and Technical Communication from the University of Minnesota. The focus of his degree was on health and medical writing, with a special emphasis on medical writing for kids. His other favorite writing subjects include exploration and nature. He loves learning…