Karen Cushman was awarded the Newbery Medal for her middle grade novel, The Midwife's Apprentice. She was also awarded a Newbery Honor for Catherine, Called Birdy. She's one of our local treasures and we are so excited to welcome her to our festival.

Maya Prasad is a Caltech graduate and a former software engineer. She lives in the Pacific Northwest where she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and raising her budding bookworm kiddo. Her works include the SEJAL SINHA chapter book series as well as DRIZZLE, DREAMS, AND LOVESTRUCK THINGS, a YA contemporary romance novel. 

Dan Gemeinhart is the bestselling author of eight middle grade novels and two picture books. A former elementary librarian, he lives in Cashmere, WA with his wife and two daughters.

For nearly 30 years, Kelly Milner Halls has written high interest nonfiction for young readers, including A DINOSAUR FOR WASHINGTON, CRYPTID SEA MONSTERS: A FIELD GUIDE, and CRYPTID BABIES (with her daughter, Ness Hall.

Dr. Audrey Barbakoff is a librarian, educator, and entrepreneur. She is a nationally recognized advocate for the freedom to read. Audrey loves sharing her culture through folklore, humor, and lots of Yiddish interjections. Oy vey!

Asia Citro has an M.Ed in Science Education and was a classroom science teacher for many years before deciding to become a children's book author. She lives near Seattle with her wonderful husband, two awesome children, and two destructive cats.

Jessixa Bagley is an award-winning children's book author and illustrator. Her focus is on picture books and middle grade graphic novels which are inspired by her own experiences.

Aaron Bagley is an author/illustrator from Seattle, WA. He is the illustrator of the graphic novels Duel (Simon & Schuster 2023) and Dear Jackie (Simon & Schuster 2025).

Corey R. Tabor is the author and illustrator of several books for children, including the Caldecott Honor-winning Mel Fell and the Geisel Award winners Fox Has a Problem, Fox at Night and Fox the Tiger. Corey lives in Tacoma, Washington with his wife and son and spends his time making pictures and stories.

Rachel Michelle Wilson is the author and illustrator of TO CATCH A GHOST (Scholastic) and HOW TO PEE YOUR PANTS: THE RIGHT WAY (Macmillan) which was one of Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books of 2024. When she is not making books, you can find her puzzling over a logic problem, hosting a living room dance party, or paddle boarding near her home in Kitsap county with her husband and dog.

Nikki McClure lives in Olympia where she makes books for curious kids of the Salish Sea. She sails, rows, swims and when not on or in the water, she cuts paper to create the illustrations for her books.

Jennifer K. Mann is an award winning author/illustrator who lives on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle. She was once an architect who loved to draw buildings, but now she loves drawing kids and animals and nature and all the magical things in picture books.

Curtis Manley is an award-winning author of picture books—from fiction to nonfiction to poetry to a retold folktale—including the Washington State Book Award winner SHAWN LOVES SHARKS. A former volcanologist and software engineer, he lives east of Seattle with his wife and cat. www.CurtisManley.com

Ashley Erdely is a published author, educator, and nature enthusiast who lives in White Salmon, Washington with her husband, daughter, and puppy. Things in nature that inspire her include sleeping under the stars, jellyfish, moving water, wings, and the many colors in a single meadow.

Heidi Lang is the author of ten middle grade novels, including Whispering Pines—a Junior Library Guild Selection and Washington State Book Award Finalist—Out of Range, a wilderness survival story called 'realistic and riveting' by Kirkus, and Wrong Way Summer, named one of Bank Street’s Best Books of the Year. If she’s not writing, she’s probably exploring the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two kids, and very opinionated corgi in search of her next great story idea.

Michelle Jing Chan is a queer Chinese American author-illustrator who makes picture books and graphic novels for kids and teens. Her work has been featured in the Wing Luke Museum and awarded by the Children's Book Council, and her stories center around themes of cultural diversity, queer joy, and self-acceptance.

Aron Nels Steinke is the Eisner Award-winning creator of the best-selling Mr. Wolf’s Class graphic novel series for kids, and Speechless. A former elementary school teacher, Aron lives in Portland, Oregon and regularly visits schools near and far to inspire a love for literacy.

A four-time Emmy Award-winning writer for "Bill Nye the Science Guy," Lynn Brunelle is an award-winning author of over 60 titles including Haiku Ew!, Pop Up Planetarium, Turn This Book into a Birdfeeder and Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall, illustrated by Jason Chin.

Jing Jing Tsong is a New York Times bestselling picture book illustrator whose work has been commissioned by clients such as The National Cherry Blossom Festival, The United States Postal Service and XPrize. Her author/illustrator debut, the graphic novel Fake Chinese Sounds, was on both the Kirkus Reviews and Booklist Online Best of 2024 lists.

J. Anderson Coats is the author of books for kids and teens. She has received four Junior Library Guild selections, two Washington State Book Awards, and earned starred reviews from Kirkus, School Library Journal, the Horn Book Review, and Shelf Awareness.

Piper CJ has an M.A. in Folklore and a B.A. in Broadcasting. She is the author of the USA Today bestselling adult fantasy series The Night and Its Moon, and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. When she isn’t making TikToks for her 1 million plus followers, she’s ‌studying fairytales and creating worlds.

Kristin Varner is an award winning author, illustrator and graphic novelist based in the Pacific Northwest. Kristin received her degree in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design and has created art for children’s books, games, apparel, and toys. Her two middle grade graphic novels, Horse Trouble and Dog Trouble are both recipients of the ALA Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List awards.

Rosanne Parry is the author of A Wolf Called Wander and many other Voice of the Wilderness Books. She lives in Portland and writes in a treehouse in her back yard.

Laurie Ann Thompson grew up in the fields and forests of northern Wisconsin and now lives between the mountains and the sea in Washington State. A volunteer naturalist, climate advocate, and former software engineer, she writes to help her readers (and herself) better understand the world we all share, so they can help make it a better place for all.

Ben Guterson is the New York Times bestselling author of The World-Famous Nine, which was a Barnes & Noble Young Reader Pick of the Month, as well as The Einsteins of Vista Point and the popular Winterhouse trilogy, the first volume of which was an Edgar Award finalist and an Indie Next List Pick. His books have been translated into eleven languages worldwide.

Ben Clanton is the New York Times bestselling author and Eisner Award-winning creator of the Narwhal and Jelly series as well as the co-creator of Ploof and Papilio. Some of his other titles include Vote for Me!; Rot, the Cutest in the World!; It Came in the Mail; and the Tater Tales books.

A silly introvert ruled by coffee and cats, Sonja Thomas writes stories for kids of all ages. Raised in Central Florida and a DC transplant for eleven years, she's now "keeping it weird" in the Pacific Northwest.

Fiona Cohen lives in Seattle, and wrote the Curious Kids Nature Guide to be the book she wishes she had when she was a kid growing up and exploring nature in British Columbia.

Karen DeWitz is an author, photographer, and former teacher whose work invites young explorers to see the world through a lens of wonder. She is the author of two beautiful field guides for budding naturalists: Let’s Explore the Beach! and Look at That Bird! Both were written to help young readers connect more deeply with the natural world around them.

Jenna Lee-Yun is a children’s author and clinical psychologist residing in the Pacific Northwest. The Last Rhee Witch, the first book in her debut middle-grade series, is one of School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2024.

Joy McCullough is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of picture books and middle grade and young adult novels, as well as plays. She lives in the Seattle area.

Dana is the NYTimes best-selling creator of the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series. She grew up in Gig Harbor but now lives in Olympia with her spouse and her adorable cat. 

Liz Wong is the author and illustrator of Quackers, The Goose Egg, and I Am Not a Penguin: A Pangolin's Lament, as well as the illustrator of several picture book biographies. Liz lives in Edmonds with her husband and son.

Toni Yuly has been an early bird her whole life and loves to start the day in her studio listening to other early birds sing outside her window. She lives in a small house by the water in Bremerton, Washington, a short ferry boat ride to Seattle, where she was born.

Television writer by day, novelist by night, Brandon lives in Portland, OR with his wife and two daughters.

Suzanne is a national best-selling author with over 30 books for young readers and has won numerous state awards. She is the founder of this book festival and the owner of Liberty Bay Books.