Achut Deng was born in South Sudan and came to America as a refugee when she was sixteen years old, a story she recounts in her memoir, Don't Look Back. She is now an American citizen and works in human resources at a meat-packing plant in South Dakota, where she also resides. She is the mother of three sons.
Keely Hutton is a children’s book author and former English teacher. She worked closely with Ricky Richard Anywar to tell his story in her debut novel, Soldier Boy. Booklist named Soldier Boy one of the top ten first novels in 2017 and one of the top ten historical novels for youth in 2018. Her second novel, Secret Soldiers, was a 2020 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year and 2020 Children's Book Council Notable Social Studies Book for Young People. Keely lives in Rochester, NY with her husband, two sons, and adorable dog, Maximus.
Keely Hutton is a children’s book author and former English teacher. She worked closely with Ricky Richard Anywar to tell his story in her debut novel,
Soldier Boy,
which
Booklist named one of the top ten first novels of the year and one of the top ten historical novels for youth the following year. Her second novel,
Secret Soldiers, was a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year and a Children’s Book Council Notable Social Studies Book for Young People. She is also the co-author of Achut Deng’s coming-of-age memoir
Don’t Look Back, which recounts Deng’s journey from South Sudan to America
. Keely lives in Rochester, New York, with her husband, two sons, and adorable dog, Maximus.