Bethany C. Morrow is a recovering expat recently returning from six years in Montreal, Quebec, to live and write in north country New York. A California native, Bethany graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Sociology. Following undergrad, she studied Clinical Psychological Research at the University of Wales, Bangor, in Great Britain before returning to North America to focus on her literary work. She is the author of the adult novel Mem (Unnamed Press) and the editor of the young adult anthology Take the Mic (Arthur A. Levine Books).
Lauren Shippen, author of The Infinite Noise, is a writer best known for her work in fiction podcasts. She is the creator and sole writer of the popular audio drama, The Bright Sessions. She went on to executive produce The AM Archives and co-produce Passenger List before founding Atypical Artists, a company dedicated to audio storytelling. She wrote MARVELS, an audio adaptation of the popular comic, released in 2019 by Marvel and Stitcher. Lauren was named one of Forbes's 2018 30 Under 30 in Media and one of MovieMaker Magazine's and Austin Film Festival’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch. She was born in New York City and grew up in Bronxville, New York. She currently lives in Los Angeles but travels frequently to New York.
Mark Oshiro is the Hugo-nominated writer of the online Mark Does Stuff universe (Mark Reads and Mark Watches), where they analyze book and TV series. Their debut novel, Anger Is a Gift, was a recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award for 2019. Their lifelong goal is to pet every dog in the world.
Sarah Henning is a recovering journalist who has worked for Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star, and Associated Press, among others. Her novels include Sea Witch and Throw Like a Girl. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids and hangs out with her husband Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department.
TJ Klune is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The House in the Cerulean Sea and many other books for adults. Being queer himself, TJ believes it’s important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories. The Extraordinaries is his young adult debut.
Sara B. Larson is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of the YA fantasy Defy trilogy and the Dark Breaks the Dawn duology. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t write books—although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Utah with her husband, their four children, and their Maltese, Loki. She writes in brief snippets throughout the day and the quiet hours when most people are sleeping. Her husband claims she should have a degree in “the art of multitasking.” When she’s not mothering or writing, you can often find her at the gym repenting for her sugar addiction
Bethany C. Morrow is a national bestselling author. Her young adult novels include
A Song Below Water,
A Chorus Rises, and the Little Women remix,
So Many Beginnings, and she is editor/contributor to the young adult anthology
Take The Mic, which won the 2020 ILA Social Justice in Literature award. Her adult novels include
Mem, and the social horror,
Cherish Farrah. Her work has been featured in The LA Times, Forbes, Bustle, Buzzfeed, and more. She is included on USA TODAY's list of 100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read.
LAUREN SHIPPEN, author of
The Infinite Noise, is a writer best known for her work in fiction podcasts. She is the creator and sole writer of the popular audio drama,
The Bright Sessions. She went on to executive produce
The AM Archives and co-produce
Passenger List before founding Atypical Artists, a company dedicated to audio storytelling. She wrote
MARVELS, an audio adaptation of the popular comic, released in 2019 by Marvel and Stitcher. Lauren was named one of
Forbes's 2018 30 Under 30 in Media and one of
MovieMaker Magazine's and Austin Film Festival’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch. She was born in New York City and grew up in Bronxville, New York. She currently lives in Los Angeles but travels frequently to New York.
MARK OSHIRO is the #1
New York Times bestselling, award-winning Latinx queer author of
Anger Is a Gift, Each of Us a Desert, and
Into the Light, as well as their middle grade books
The Insiders,
You Only Live Once, David Bravo, and
Star Wars Hunters: Battle for the Arena. They are the coauthor (with Rick Riordan) of
The Sun and the Star: A Nico Di Angelo Adventure. When not writing, they are trying to pet every dog in the world.
Sarah Henning is the author of several books for young adults, including the Indies Introduce/Indies Next selection and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Sea Witch, and its sequel,
Sea Witch Rising;
The Princess Will Save You,
The Queen Will Betray You, and
The King Will Kill You; as well as
Throw Like A Girl and its companion book,
It's All In How You Fall. Her first middle grade book is
Monster Camp (2023), and she appears in the girls-in-sports anthology,
Out of Our League (2024). When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids, and hangs out with her husband Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, hometown of Langston Hughes, William S. Burroughs, and a really good basketball team.
TJ KLUNE is the
New York Times and
USA Today bestselling, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of
The House in the Cerulean Sea,
The Extraordinaries, and more. Being queer himself, Klune believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive queer representation in stories.
SARA B. LARSON is the best-selling and critically acclaimed author of the YA fantasy Defy trilogy and the Dark Breaks the Dawn duology. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t write books—although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Utah with her husband, their four children, and their Maltese, Loki. She writes in brief snippets throughout the day and the quiet hours when most people are sleeping. Her husband claims she should have a degree in “the art of multitasking.” When she’s not mothering or writing, you can often find her at the gym repenting for her sugar addiction.
