Our authors

Sarah Aronson, author of HEAD CASE (Yalsa Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, 2008) and now BEYOND LUCKY, lives in New Hampshire.

www.saraharonson.com

Julie Bertagna is the acclaimed author of several novels for children and young adults, but best known for her dystopian EXODUS trilogy.  Described as ‘a miracle of a novel . . . a book you will remember for the rest of your life’ (Guardian), EXODUS was shortlisted for the UK’s Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year. Julie lives in Glasgow, Scotland.

www.juliebertagna.com

Tami Lewis Brown, author of THE MAP OF ME, left a career as a trial lawyer to earn an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College.

www.tamilewisbrown.com

Tami on facebook

Caroline Carlson has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is Assistant Children’s & YA Literature Editor at Hunger Mountain, the VCFA journal of the arts. She is also a published poet (for adults) and has won several awards for her work. She lives with her husband in Pittsburgh, PA. 

Sarwat Chadda is author of block-busting DEVIL’S KISS, a B&N Top 20 YA novel of 2009. A Londoner, he looks at the world from both East and West.

www.sarwatchadda.com

Lil Chase is an editor living in London. She started writing her first novel BOYS FOR BEGINNERS when she was 11.

www.lilchase.com

Amanda Cockrell is founding director of the graduate program in children’s literature at Hollins University, Virginia, where she also teaches creative writing and literature. WHAT WE KEEP IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT WILL STAY is her first novel for young adults.

www.amandacockrell.com

Winifred Conkling is the author of many non-fiction titles for adults, but SYLVIA AND AKI is her debut for young readers. She lives in Northern Virginia and is currently studying for an MFA in children’s/YA writing.

Anne-Marie Conway is a teacher who specializes in drama. She runs her own children’s theatre company, which inspired STARMAKERS. She lives in London with her family.

www.annemarieconway.com

Donna Cooner is Director of the School of Teacher Education and Principal Preparation at Colorado State University. SKINNY is her debut novel.  www.yamuses.blogspot.com

Elle Cosimano set aside a successful real-estate career to write. DEAD BLUE is her debut novel and she lives with her family in Virginia. www.ellecosimano.

Sue Cowing grew up in Galesburg, Illinois, but moved to Hawaii to study Chinese history and still lives in Honolulu. YOU WILL CALL ME DROG is her debut novel.

www.suecowing.com

SD Crockett lives in the beech forests of Southern France. Her first book, AFTER THE SNOW, is genre-busting novel about a young boy’s survival in winter that never ends. It will be published in 2012.

www.sdcrockett.com

Sarah Crossan is Irish and lives in the US, where she teaches English Literature. THE WEIGHT OF WATER, her first novel, will be published in 2012.

www.sarahcrossan.com

Stephen Davies lives in Burkina Faso and writes pacy, action packed adventure thrillers for boys.

www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk

Alexandra Diaz currently lives in New Mexico, but has also lived in the UK and other parts of the USA. OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS is her first novel; her one-act plays have been performed in Britain and the US.

www.alexandra-diaz.com

Helen lives in Cornwall with her family. Her first book, EDEN, will be published in 2013.

Ashley Elston, the daughter of an attorney, grew up surrounded by talk of court cases and the law, and this inspired her debut novel, THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING. She lives in Shreveport, Louisiana with her family.

Michael Ford has written several novels and non-fiction books for children and works as a fiction editor in London.

Harriet Goodwin is a professional singer, has four children, and lives in a remote English village. THE BOY WHO FELL DOWN EXIT 43, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the UK’s 2010 Blue Peter Book Awards as well as many of regional awards.

www.harrietgoodwinbooks.com

Teresa lives in New Jersey. Her debut picturebook, SUMMER JACKSON: GROWN UP,was published in 2011, and her debut middle-grade novel publishes in 2013. 

Jill Hathaway grew up in Iowa and lives in the Des Moines area with her family. She is a high-school English teacher and SLIDE is her debut YA novel.

www.jillhathaway.com

Amy Holder’s sizzling and hilarious debut novel, THE LIPSTICK LAWS (Houghton Mifflin, April 2011), marks the arrival of a bright new talent in contemporary YA fiction. She lives in Pennsylvania.

www.amyholder.com

Elissa Hoole lives with her family in Minnesota and her YA debut, KISS THE MORNING STAR, grew from a road trip she made out West.

www.elissajhoole.com

Kathryn James lives in Leicester with her family.  She’s a filmmaker who documents the lives of Gypsies living in the UK. 

Sarah Lean lives in Dorset with her family. She’s a fabulous new talent in 8+ girl’s fiction.

Lindsey Leavitt is the author of the middle-grade series PRINCESS FOR HIRE and YA novel SEAN GRISWOLD’S HEAD. She lives in Las Vegas.

www.lindseyleavitt.com

Jon Mayhew lives in an ancient part of northern England, which helped to inspire his debut novel, MORTLOCK. A teacher for 20 years, he also loves music and running.

www.bloomsbury.com/mortlock

Megan Miranda studied at M.I.T. and won awards for research in bioengineering before becoming a high-school science teacher. She lives in North Carolina with her young family, volunteering as an M.I.T. Educational Counselor. FRACTURE is her first novel.

www.meganmiranda.com

Annemarie O’Brien has an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She teaches writing courses at UC Berkeley and Stanford and edits children’s books for Room to Read. Having lived and worked in Russia for many years, she is now an adviser for Eurasia Strategy & Communications.

Valerie Patterson lives in Leesburg, Virginia. Han Nolan, National Book Award winner, says of Val’s debut novel THE OTHER SIDE OF BLUE: ‘So beautifully written each word seems to shimmer.’

Leila is author of the BATHSHEBA CLARICE DE TROP series for Usborne. She also workshops on writing for children.

www.leilarasheed.com

Jeyn Roberts grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She is a former singer, songwriter, actress, bicycle courier and tree planter. DARK INSIDE is her thrilling debut novel.

Erica Scheidt lives in San Francisco and works for a non-profit, also serving on the board of directors of ISIS, a non-profit focusing on sex education. She has an MA in Creative Writing and volunteers at 826 Valencia.  USES FOR BOYS is her debut novel.

www.ericalorraine.com

Amy writes picture books and fiction for younger readers. WELCOME TO THE STRANGEST ZOO will publish in 2013.

http://www.sparkey.org.uk/Books/

Tricia Springstubb’s WHAT HAPPENED ON FOX STREET achieved three starred reviews (Horn Book, ALA Booklist, Kirkus Reviews) by publication. Tricia is an experienced writer in residence in schools and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

www.triciaspringstubb.com

Shawn Stout writes wonderfully quirky, funny and charming young fiction. PENELOPE CRUMB publishes with Philomel/Penguin in 2012, while her FIONA FINKELSTEIN mini series is published by Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.

Talia Vance is a practicing litigation attorney who lives in Northern California with her family. Before law school, she worked as a freelance writer, drafting scripts for corporate training films, and also as a horse trainer. 

Blythe Woolston’s THE FREAK OBSERVER won YALSA’s 2011 William C. Morris Award for a debut YA novel. Her second book, CATCH AND RELEASE, publishes in February 2012. She lives in Montana with her family.

http://blythewoolston.blogspot.com

Brenna Yovanoff’s extraordinary debut YA novel, THE REPLACEMENT, is a New York Times bestseller and has been described as ‘Edward Scissorhands meets Catcher in the Rye’