Middle Grade
Middle Grade writers from Minnesota.
Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo is the author of many books for young readers. Her books have been awarded the Newbery Medal (Flora & Ulysses in 2014 and The Tale of Despereaux in 2004); the Newbery Honor (Because of Winn-Dixie, 2001), the Boston Globe Horn Book Award (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, 2006), and the Theodor Geisel…
H.M. Bouwman
H.M. Bouwman is the author of middle grade fantasy novels, most recently A Crack in the Sea and A Tear in the Ocean, as well as the Owen and Eleanor early chapter books. She lives in Saint Paul and teaches at the University of St. Thomas. Bouwman loves to speak to kids and adults about…
Abby Cooper
Abby Cooper lives in Minnesota with her miniature poodle, Louis, and a whole bunch of books. A former teacher and school librarian, her favorite things in the world (besides writing) are getting and giving book recommendations and sharing her love of reading with others. In her spare time, she likes eating cupcakes, running along the…
Mary Losure
From the titles, you might think Mary Losure’s books are fiction, but she assures you that every word of Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d is not only true, but documented with primary sources. So is Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron and even The Fairy Ring, or Elsie…
Jane St. Anthony
Jane St. Anthony’s first middle-grade book, The Summer Sherman Loved Me, was followed by Grace Above All, Isabelle Day Refuses to Die of a Broken Heart (Minnesota Book Award Finalist and winner of the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award for Young Adult and Middle Grade), and Whatever Normal Is. For several years St. Anthony has taught…
Joyce Sidman
Joyce Sidman’s books have won a Newbery Honor (Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night), a Sibert Award for Nonfiction (The Girl Who Drew Butterflies) and two Caldecott Honors. Her book What the Heart Knows was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. In 2013, she received the NCTE Award for Excellence…
Stephanie Watson
Stephanie Watson is the author of the picture books Behold! A Baby (a 2016 Minnesota Book Award finalist), The Wee Hours, and Best Friends in the Universe (a 2019 Minnesota Book Award finalist). Her middle-grade novels include Pencilvania (named one of the best books of 2021 by the New York Public Library), and Elvis and…
Anne Ursu
Anne Ursu is the author of several middle grade fantasies, including Breadcrumbs, an NPR Backseat Book Club pick, and The Real Boy, which was longlisted for the 2013 National Book Award. She is a recipient of the McKnight Fellowship and teaches at Hamline University’s Masters in Fine Arts in Writing for Children. Ursu lives in…
Kurtis Scaletta
Kurtis Scaletta is the author of several novels for young readers including Mudville, Mamba Point, The Tanglewood Terror, The Winter of the Robots, and Rooting for Rafael Rosales. He also wrote the Topps League series. Scaletta was born in Louisiana, but moved a lot as a kid. He lived in five states and three foreign…
Caren B. Stelson
Caren Stelson is a Minneapolis writer for children and young adults, with a passion for nonfiction. Her work explores stories that struggle with issues of war and peace. Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story is such a book, revealing the horrors of nuclear war and Sachiko Yasui’s long arc toward peace. Stelson visited Nagasaki, Japan…