Chental Song Bembry is an author and motivational speaker from Somerset, NJ. She holds a B.A. in Journalism with a minor in Leadership Studies from Hampton University. Chental is the author of Desiree Davenport: Welcome to Treeless Park, coming in March 2020. Prior to publishing Desiree Davenport, she wrote and illustrated “The Honey Bunch Kids” book series. Chental’s contributions to literacy have been recognized by Black Enterprise, Ebony Magazine, Essence Magazine, ESPN’s The Undefeated, BuzzFeed, USA Today, The Ringer, The Cheat Sheet TV, the National Urban League, and Black Entertainment Television. In 2015, she was recognized at the BET Honors as an “Early Riser” and at the Black Girls Rock! awards show, where Michelle Obama declared her a “Making a Difference Girl.” In May 2018, Chental was featured in LeBron James’ Always Believe campaign during the NBA Playoffs.
Marina Budhos is an award-winning author who often writes on immigrant themes, including the novels Watched, about surveillance of Muslim communities; Ask Me No Questions, about an undocumented family, cited by Bustle.com as one of “12 YA Novels That Will Make You See the World Differently,” and Tell Us We’re Home, about immigrant daughters of maids and nannies in a NJ suburb. Her nonfiction includes Remix: Conversations with Immigrant Teenagers and Eyes of the World, co-authored with Marc Aronson, about Jewish refugees who invented modern photojournalism during the Spanish Civil War. Her latest novel, The Long Ride, is about three mixed race girls during a 1970s integration battle. www.marinabudhos.com
Rachel Carter is the author of the So Close to You series with Harperteen. She has taught creative writing at Columbia University, Champlain College, and Southern New Hampshire University, and her nonfiction has appeared in The New Republic, The Faster Times, and Booktrib.com. She currently lives in Brooklyn and is a visiting professor of fiction at Montclair State University, specializing in young adult writing.
Yvonne D. Ceaser (aka StoryWeaver) loves to share tales with NJ audiences. Indeed, it was her love of stories that inspired her to become a professional storyteller. Her area of expertise is stories from the African diaspora. She has performed at school, libraries, and churches throughout the state. This will be Ms. Ceaser’s first time performing in Montclair but she is not new to the festival circuit having made appearances at Holmdel’s African Heritage Festival and the Festival of Ballooning in Readington. Additionally, Ms. Ceaser is a children’s librarian.
Mike Ciccotello is an author and illustrator in Little Silver, New Jersey. Twins is his first book.
Lisa Conrad is a visual artist, curator, art director, and educator. Conrad holds a Masters Degree in Art Education and a BFA in Studio Art. As a practicing artist, she has created a multifaceted body of work including ceramics, works on handmade paper, artist books, paintings and prints. Her work references a range of influences, from shifting urban landscapes, displacement, regeneration, and recreating home. She founded the Newark Print Shop, a community printmaking studio, in 2012 to share her love of fine art print. Conrad teaches elementary art at Franklin School in Newark, NJ, as well as the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, NJ.
Candy J. Cooper is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting. She has been a staff writer for four newspapers, and her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, The Columbia Journalism Review and The Chronicle of Higher Education, among others. She is on leave as the Director of Education for Succeed2gether.
Sharon Dennis-Wyeth is an award winning children’s book author and poet. She is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Hollins University. She has visited numerous schools throughout the country, sharing her writing process and conducting workshops. She is a graduate of Harvard University and has an MFA in Memoir from Hunter College. www.sharondenniswyeth.com
K.R. Gaddy is an award-winning writer who believes in the power of narrative nonfiction to bring stories from the past to life in order to inform the world we live in today. In her debut book Flowers in the Gutter (Dutton 2020), she tells the true story of the teenage Edelweiss Pirates who fought the Nazis. She immerses the reader in the world of these teenagers as they resist the Third Reich. Her writing explores and highlights forgotten and marginalized histories, and has appeared in The Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Bitch Magazine, Narratively, Atlas Obscura, OZY, among other publications.
Jennifer Voight Kaplan is an award-winning author of children’s fiction. Her debut children’s novel, Crushing the Red Flowers, was recognized in six literary contests before its publication, including earning a Letter of Merit for the SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant and winning the middle-grade category of the Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize for Fiction. While the story is fictional, it is based on true family experiences. Jennifer was born in Germany, raised in Philadelphia, and now resides in the New York City area. She holds degrees from the Wharton School of Business in marketing and from the London School of Economics in social psychology. Connect with Jennifer at: JenniferVK.com
Kelsey Kloss is the author of Malty the Blue Tiger bilingual children's books, and a former editor for national magazines including Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, Prevention, ELLE Decor, and Redbook. She hosts In Plain Language, the biweekly podcast presented by Malty the Blue Tiger about speech and language in kids. She is also currently a content strategist for the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. www.maltythebluetiger.com www.kelseykloss.com
Emma Lord is a digital media editor and writer living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, grilled cheese, and a whole lot of love. Her sun sign is Hufflepuff, but she is a Gryffindor rising. Tweet Cute is her debut novel. You can find her geeking out online on Twitter.
Dayna Lorentz is the author of the middle grade trilogy Dogs of the Drowned City and the young adult trilogy No Safety in Numbers, which was an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Her next middle grade book, Of a Feather, is about the friendship that forms between an orphaned great horned owlet and the eleven-year-old girl who rescues and trains him for falconry. Dayna lives in Vermont with her husband and two children, and always scans the skies for hawks and the trees for owls. Visit her at daynalorentz.com.
Raakhee Mirchandani is a writer, editor and pediatric cancer crusader. Her work has appeared in Elle, Glamour, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, New York Post, Oprah Magazine, Redbook and HuffPo. Raakhee has also appeared on the "Today" show as well as both a host and guest on SiriusXM. Super Satya Saves the Day is Raakhee's first book and is inspired by her own fiery daughter Satya. Her next book, Hair Twins, about a Sikh father and daughter, will be published by Little, Brown in 2021.
Diana Murray grew up in New York City and still lives nearby with her husband, two daughters, and a spiky bearded dragon who loves listening to stories—especially about dinosaurs. Some of Diana’s picture books include Wild About Dads, Five Fuzzy Chicks, Doris the Bookasaurus, Grimelda: The Very Messy Witch, Ned the Knitting Pirate, and City Shapes. Her poems have appeared in magazines including Highlights, High Five, and Spider.
Michael Rex is the creator of over 45 books for children, including the #1 bestseller Goodnight Goon and the popular Fangbone! series that has been turned into an animated show that runs on Netflix. He has written and drawn picture books, illustrated chapter books and graphic novels. In 2020 he will have two picture books published Facts Vs. Opinion Vs. Robots, out in February, is his first non-fiction work. We’re Going on a Goon Hunt, will be out in August for the Halloween season. He is active on Instagram (fangbone_rex) where he posts cartoons, sketches and workshops book ideas. He lives in Leonia, NJ, with his wife, two teenage boys and a dog.
Lori Richmond is a corporate creative director turned picture book maker and can relate all too well to travel-for-work parents and the bunnies who miss them. As a former contributing editor and spokesperson for the leading pregnancy and parenting brand, The Bump, Lori has appeared as an expert on Today, Good Morning America, CNN, and more. She works out of her studio in Brooklyn, New York, where she lives with her family. Lori is also the author-illustrator of Pax and Blue and has illustrated several picture books, including A Hop Is Up, written by Kristy Dempsey, and Oopsie-Do, written by Tim Kubart.
Abby Sher is a writer and performer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and more. She is the author of Miss You Love You Hate You Bye, All the Ways the World Can End, Breaking Free: True Stories of Girls Who Escaped Modern Slavery, Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn't Stop Praying, and Kissing Snowflakes. Abby has written and performed for The Second City, Upright Citizen's Brigade, HBO and NPR. She is a co-producer of the Chucklepatch Comedy Show and she lives in New Jersey with her ridiculously awesome family. www.abby-sher.com.
Stephanie and Jed Snyder, a married author/illustrator team, conceived the Littlebit Book Club in 2017. New mom and former language arts teacher Stephanie began reading books to her newborn daughter, Lucy. Tired of books about animals and objects, Stephanie grew determined to create a book for babies, toddlers, and the parents who read to them, that would capture their day-to-day experiences while reinforcing language and literacy. Thus, Strolling! A Lucy Littlebit Book was drafted, and Jed completed the illustrations. Littlebit Book Club books are about the ways babies, toddlers, and young children learn about the world, told from the point-of-view of the pint-sized protagonist, Lucy Littlebit. Strolling! captures Lucy Littlebit’s view from her stroller as she explores her town with Mommy. In the second book – Dining! – Lucy Littlebit enjoys all of her favorite foods (lovingly prepared by Daddy) in her high chair throughout the day. The third book – Cruising! – shares Lucy Littlebit’s perspectives from her car seat. The Snyder family’s interests include bargain shopping, fantasy football, and toddler mischief. They live in New Jersey, where they enjoy strolling, dining, and cruising down the shore.