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2026 Authors & Illustrators
We are excited to announce our 2026 line-up!
New Presenter
Online presentation only
Gilbert-Sadler Luncheon Series Speaker
Donna Barba Higuera is the New York Times best selling author of middle grade and picture books that reinvent history, folklore, and or her own life experience into compelling storylines. She lives in Washington State with her family, two dogs, two guppies and a frog. Her books include Lupe Wong Won't Dance, El Cucuy Is Scared, Too!, The Last Cuentista, The Yellow Handkerchief, Alebrijes, and have won awards including: the Newbery medal, both Pura Belpré medal and honor, PNBA best book of the year award, and the Sid Fleischman award for best children's humor book of the year.
Rob Buyea did not like reading or writing as a kid but loved both when he was a teacher, which ultimately put him on the path to becoming the author of many books. He is best known for his Mr. Terupt series, which has won numerous awards and has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He is also the author of the award-winning Perfect Score series and three stand-alone novels, What Comes Next, The Daredevils, and Carter Avery’s Tricky Fourth-Grade Year. Rob’s books continue to reach classrooms near and far and have given him the opportunity to visit with students all over the world—something he loves to do. You can visit him at robbuyea.com.
Pablo Cartaya is a NYT Bestselling author, screenwriter, speaker, and actor. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, and on Oprah’s Booklist. He has received multiple starred reviews from Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, School Library Journal, and Audiofile Magazine for his novels and audiobook narrations. Pablo has worked with Disney, Apple TV+, and Sesame Street on projects adapted from television series and features. He has appeared on NBC’s “Will & Grace”; Telemundo’s “Los Beltran”; played several characters in the Spanish dubbing of “South Park”; been in numerous television commercials and music videos, as well as several award-winning plays and musicals. Novels include: A Hero's Guide to Summer Vacation;The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora; Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish; Each Tiny Spark; the climate dystopia The Last Beekeeper; and the graphic novel Curveball.
Angela is the award-winning author of several beloved children’s novels including Lety Out Loud, which won a Pura Belpré Honor Award. Her latest novels are Anomalies 53: Into The Shadows and Raquel Reyes Saves the Wedding. Angela’s other novels include The Cursed Moon which was named to Missouri's Mark Twain list; and Maritza: Lead With Your Heart, an American Girl book; Gaby, Lost and Found; Allie, First at Last; and the Frida Kahlo-inspired mystery, Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring. In addition to her original work, Angela adapted Coco: The Junior Novelization and Encanto: The Junior Novelization which accompanies the award-winning animated films by Disney/Pixar. Angela's next novel which will be released in May 2026 is The Mystery of the Stolen World Cup Trophy.
Ruth Chan is an award-winning author and illustrator of comics and children’s books, including her graphic memoir Uprooted, which has earned a Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor, and an SCBWI Golden Kite Award and Honor. Prior to illustrating full time, she spent her teens in China and a decade working with youth and families in underserved communities. She is a proud Canadian who now lives and works in NYC.
Jared Chapman is the author-illustrator of the popular books Seals Are Jerks, Vegetables in Underwear, and Fruits in Suits, as well as Steve, Raised by Wolves, and Pirate, Viking & Scientist. He is also the illustrator of Monty and the Mushrooms and Berry and the Mushrooms by Dev Petty, and several other picture books. Jared was born in Louisiana, grew up in Texas, went to college in Georgia, and now calls the piney woods of northeast Texas his home.
Traci Chee is a best-selling and award-winning author of books for young people, including the instant New York Times best-seller The Reader, Printz Honor Book and National Book Award Finalist We Are Not Free, and National Book Award Longlisted A Thousand Steps into Night. Her latest title is Kindling, a YA fantasy reimagining of Seven Samurai, which was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. and named one of the Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far) by Kirkus Reviews. She has served on judging committees for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and the PEN America Phyllis Naylor Grant, and is currently on faculty at the Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Nevada, Reno. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, egg painting, gardening, and hosting game nights for family and friends. She lives in California with her fast dog.
Byron Graves (They/Them) is Ojibwe and was born and raised on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. Their debut novel, Rez Ball, won the Walter C. Morris Award, the American Indian Youth Literature Award as well as the 2024 Colorado Book Award for best Young Adult novel. When they aren't writing, they can be found playing video games, skateboarding or at a concert.
Mary Downing Hahn, a former children's librarian, has been writing children's books for over thirty years and is a perennial favorite with readers. Her books have sold more than 2 million copies and consistently win state children's choice awards. Mary's work spans a variety of genres—historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and fantasy—but she is best known for her ghost stories and mysteries. Beginning with Wait Till Helen Comes, now a classic that has been in print, selling steadily, for over twenty years, Ms. Hahn has created an oeuvre of well-loved spine-chilling tales including The Doll in the Garden, A Time for Andrew, and The Old Willis Place. Always spooky, but never overly frightening, Mary "has mastered the art of the not-too-creepy ghost story" (Kirkus Reviews). An avid reader, traveler, and all-around arts lover, Mary lives in Maryland, the state where she was born and raised and the setting of many of her books. She has two grown daughters.
Meg Eden Kuyatt teaches creative writing at colleges and writing centers. She is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection Drowning in the Floating World and the forthcoming obsolete hill (Fernwood Press, 2026) and children’s novels including the Schneider Family Book Award Honor-winning Good Different, and The Girl in the Walls (Scholastic, 2025). Find her online at megedenbooks.com.
Lindsay Lackey is an author of middle grade fiction and former library services worker. She was born in Colorado and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their spoiled dogs. Her debut novel, All the Impossible Things was the recipient of multiple honors and critical acclaim. Her second novel, Farther Than the Moon, was awarded the Northern California Book Award, named a Bank Street Best Book, and has been included on multiple state award and reading lists.
Katherine Marsh is an award-winning author of novels for middle-grade readers including The Lost Year; Nowhere Boy; The Night Tourist; Medusa: The Myth of Monsters and a sequel The Gods’ Revenge. Among her honors are National Book Award finalist, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery, winner of the New York Historical Society Book Award, winner of the Jane Addams Award for Children’s Chapter Book, winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, and winner of the Middle East Book Award. Her books have also been Junior Library Guild Gold Selections, New York Times Notables, American Library Association Notables, Bank Street Best Books, on dozens of state lists, and have been translated into sixteen languages. A former magazine journalist, Katherine lives in Washington, DC with her husband, two children and an astonishing array of pets. She is passionate about teaching writing to people of all ages and encouraging young people to read.
Meg Medina served as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of many notable works for young readers of all ages, including her newest middle-grade novel and first fantasy, Graciela in the Abyss. Her Newbery Medal–winning and New York Times bestselling book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, is the first in a trilogy. Meg Medina’s work, including Mango, Abuela, and Me, examines how cultures intersect through the eyes of young people. She brings audiences stories that speak to both what is unique in Latino culture and qualities that are universal. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.
Kiyash Monsef is the author of the New York Times-bestselling novel Once There Was (William Morris Honor, Missouri Truman Award Finalist) and its sequel Bird of a Thousand Stories (Kirkus starred review, Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection). His books have been inspired by his Iranian-American heritage, a lifelong fascination with mythology and mythological creatures, and a sincere love for the craft and the many traditions of storytelling. When not writing, he loves kayaking, running, and hiking the hills and forests of Northern California with his family.
Annabelle Oh is the mystery pen name for Jo Whittemore, author of several acclaimed books for children and young adults. Her work has also appeared in national and international publications. When she's not in the story world, she's a toy reviewer and loves spending time with her husband and daughter in sunny San Diego.
Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is the award-winning author of several books, including IndieNext Top Ten Pick and BCALA Best of the Best Operation Sisterhood, Kirkus Best of the Year It Doesn’t Take a Genius, You’re Breaking My Heart, a Junior Library Guild selection, and NAACP Image Award Nominee Two Naomis, co-authored with Audrey Vernick. She also writes picture books, easy readers, and nonfiction like School Library Journal and Bank Street Best of the Year Makeda Makes A Birthday Treat, Saving Earth: Climate Change and the Fight for Our Future, a CCBC Choices book, and Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book. Olugbemisola has written for various outlets, including PBS Parents, Read Brightly, American Baby, and her childhood favorite fanzines, like the iconic Right On! Magazine. She's contributed to several anthologies, including We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices, and edited The Hero Next Door. Olugbemisola worked extensively in youth development, was the 2024 Writer-in-Residence at Bank Street School for Children, and was commissioned by the Kennedy Center to adapt Operation Sisterhood for the stage. She lives in NYC where she writes, makes things, and needs to get more sleep.
Ally is the author of It Came from the Trees, Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave, Down Came the Spiders, and Book of Outcasts (Wednesday). She grew up on a steady diet of Halloween parties, horror films, Unsolved Mysteries, and Goosebumps books. She has always loved scary stories, and got her MFA from Simmons University and, eventually, a job working in children’s publishing. She hails from Pittsburgh—ground zero for the zombie apocalypse. Ally lives with her husband and her two black cats, Nox and Fury. She’s afraid of the woods, the dark, and heights.
For almost forty years, Gary Schmidt has taught writing, children's literature, and medieval literature at Calvin University, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the author of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy--a Newbery Honor books--and The Wednesday Wars--both a Newbery Honor and Printz Honor book--and Okay for Now--a National Book Award finalist. Recent novels include The Labors of Hercules Be, Just Like That, Orbiting Jupiter, and the soon to be released Jupiter Rising. He lives in Alto, Michigan, in a 200-year old farmhouse--along with his Border collie. He gardens--along with the Border collie--and splits wood for the coming winter--along with the Border collie--and writes--with the Border collie curled under his desk.
NYTs best selling author Roland Smith has written over 50 books. His 30th novel is The Switch. His most recent novels are The Wildes series. His most recent nonfiction book is They Are Here!
Erin Stewart is an award-winning author of realistic fiction for teens and tweens. Her novels for teens include The Words We Keep (an ALA Schneider Award recipient and 2025 Missouri Gateway winner) and Every Borrowed Beat. Her middle-grade debut, The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner, hit shelves last year followed by The Mysterious Magic of Lighthouse Lane in 2026. Erin is a heart failure survivor, mother of three and firm believer that Hot Tamales should be a recognized food group.
Dave Valeza is an artist based in Savannah, GA. He is best known for his work on the graphic novel trilogy by Rex Ogle: Four Eyes, Pizza Face, and Fruitcake. Emigrating with his family from the Philippines, Dave grew up in Covina, California. From an early age he nurtured his imagination by reading, and learned to express himself through drawing. Pursuing this love of drawing, Dave found outlets for making art and comics in school, and has earned college degrees in both illustration and sequential art. His favorite subjects to draw are people, fashion, and technology. Find out more about Dave and his work at davevaleza.com.
Sherri Winston is the author of Walter Award winner, Kirkus Prize Finalist, and Schneider Family Award Honoree Shark Teeth, National Book Award longlist title Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution, as well as President of the Whole Fifth Grade, The Sweetest Sound, Jada Sly: Artist & Spy, and The Kayla Chronicles. Before Sherri was an author, she was a longtime newspaper writer and columnist. She grew up in Michigan and now resides in North Carolina.
Karina Yan Glaser is the New York Times bestselling and award winning author of the Vanderbeeker series, the standalone middle grade novel A Duet for Home, the chapter book Poppy Song Bakes A Way (part of the multi-author series The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class), and the historical fiction middle grade novel The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli. She lives in Harlem with her husband, two teenagers, and an assortment of pets and houseplants. One of her proudest achievements is raising two kids who can’t go anywhere without a book.
