Keynote Speakers

 
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Jason Reynolds

Look Both Ways

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Gabby Rivera

Juliet Takes a Breath

 
 

Author Line-Up

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Torrey Maldonado

What Lane?

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Leah Johnson

You Should See Me in a Crown

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George M. Johnson

All Boys Aren’t Blue

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Andrés Cerpa

Bicycle in a Ransacked City: An Elegy

 
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Arvin Ahmadi

Girl Gone Viral

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Dhonielle Clayton

Everlasting Rose

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Aiden Thomas

Cemetery Boys

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Patrice Caldwell

A Phoenix First Must Burn

 

Lorraine Avila

Malcriada

Elizabeth Lim

Spin the Dawn

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Andrew Fukuda

This Light Between Us

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Jamia WIlson

Young, Gifted, and Black

 
 

Renee Watson

Some Places More Than Others

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Camryn Garret

Full Disclosure

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Zoraida Córdova/Zoey Castile

Incendiary/Happy Endings Series

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Debbi Michiko Florence

Keep It Together, Keiko Carter

 
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Claribel Ortega

Ghost Squad

Shelley Diaz

NY/Brooklyn Public Library Youth Selector

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Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Daughters of the Stone

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Ibi Zoboi

My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich

 
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Roya Marsh

dayliGht

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Ellen Oh

Dragon Egg Princess

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Tracey Baptiste

The Jumbie God's Revenge

Kwana Jackson

Real Men Knit

 
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Ann Dávila Cardinal

Category Five

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Ismée Williams

This Train is Being Held

Janae Marks

From the Desk of Zoe Washington

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Ivelisse Rodriguez

Love War Stories

 
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Sarah González

Publicist, Mil Mundos Bookstore

Pablo Cartaya

Each Tiny Spark

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P. Djèlí Clark

The Black God’s Drums

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Adam Gidwitz

The Unicorn Rescue Society series

 

Ruby Lang

The Uptown Collection

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Brandy Colbert

The Only Black Girls in Town

Kate Clayborn

Love Lettering

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Sharee Miller

Don’t Touch My Hair

 
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Tochi Onyebuchi

Riot Baby

Vanessa Mártir

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture, Anthology edited by Roxane Gay

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Victor LaValle

The Changeling

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Norma Perez-Hernandez

Assistant Editor, Kensington Publishing

 
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Melissa Rivero

The Affairs of the Falcóns

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Janella Angeles

Where Dreams Descend

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NK Jemisin

The City We Became

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Coco Ma

Shadow Frost

 
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Ibram X. Kendi

Stamped

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Cheryl Hudson

Brave. Black. First. and We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices

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Wade Hudson

Brave. Black. First. and We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices

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Lovia Gyarkye

Associate Editor at The New York Times Magazine Labs

 
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Katie Zhao

The Fallen Hero

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Swati Teerdhala

The Tiger at Midnight, & The Archer at Dawn

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Concepción de León

Reporter for The New York Times

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Alaya Dawn Johnson

Trouble the Saints

 
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Yajaira Eduardo

Born Here, From There

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Isabel Quintero

My Papi Has a Motorcycle 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 Faculty

 
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Kandace Coston

Assistant Editor at Lee & Low Books

 
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Weslie Turner

Associate Editor at Imprint, part of Macmillan

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Chelsea Eberly

Agent at Greenhouse Literary Agency

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Peter Knapp

Agent at Park & Fine Literary and Media

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Susan Graham

Agent at Einstein Literary Management

 

 

 Bronx Book Festival Schedule

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020


 

Keynotes

Opening Keynote

Join New York Times best-selling author and National Young People’s Literature Ambassador, Jason Reynolds in conversation with Concepción de León.

Recorded or Live: Live

Speaker: Jason Reynolds (Look Both Ways)

Moderator: Concepción de León, New York Times Staff Writer

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Closing Keynote

Join critically acclaimed author and Bronx natives, Gabby Rivera in conversation with Ismée Williams.

Recorded or Live: Live

Speaker: Gabby Rivera (Juliet Takes a Breath)

Moderator: Ismée Williams (This Train is Being Held)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Fireside Chat

Join New York Times best-selling authors Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds in conversation with Lovia Gyarkye

Recorded or Live: Live

Speaker: Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds (Stamped)

Moderator: Lovia Gyarkye, Associate Editor at New York Times Magazine Labs, and Bronx native

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR

 

 

Storytime Readings

Sharee Miller

Join Sharee Miller as she reads from her various picture books via @thebronxisreading!

Time: 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM 

Platform: Instagram @thebronxisreading

Author/Illustrator: Sharee Miller (Please Don’t Touch My Hair, Princess Hair)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Sarah Jung

Join Sarah Jung on Instagram LIVE as she reads from her various picture books via @thebronxisreading!

Time: 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM 

Platform: Instagram @thebronxisreading

Author/Illustrator: Sarah Jung (When Father Comes Home)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Yajaira Eduardo

Join Yajaira Eduardo on Instagram LIVE as she reads from her picture book, Born Here, From There via @thebronxisreading!

Time: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM 

Platform: Instagram @thebronxisreading

Author/Illustrator: Yajaira Eduardo (Born Here, From There)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Isabel Quintero

Join Isabel Quintero on Instagram LIVE as she reads from her various picture books My Papi Has a Motorcycle  via @thebronxisreading!

Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM 

Platform: Instagram @thebronxisreading

Author/Illustrator: Isabel Quintero (My Papi Has a Motorcycle)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Isabella Kung

Join Isabella Kung on Instagram LIVE as she reads from No Fuzball! via @thebronxisreading!

Time: 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM 

Platform: Instagram @thebronxisreading

Author/Illustrator: Isabella Kung (No Fuzzball!)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


#TheBronxisWriting

Editors & Agents in Conversation

Join editors and agents as they respond to your questions about how to query, navigating publishing, and more!

Time: 2:00 PM EST

Panelists: Kandace Coston (Assistant Editor at Lee & Low Books), Chelsea Eberly (Agent at Greenhouse Literary Agency), Peter Knapp (Agent at Park & Fine Literary and Media), Susan Graham (Agent at Einstein Literary Management), Weslie Turner (Associate Editor at Imprint, a part of Macmillan)


Adult Panels

All I Need is One Mic

Poets & Essayists discuss craft, inspiration, and community.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Andrés Cerpa (Bicycle in a Ransacked City: An Elegy), Roya Marsh (dayliGht), Vanessa Mártir (Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture, Anthology edited by Roxane Gay)

Moderator: Sarah Gonzalez, Publicist, Mil Mundos Bookstore

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Kissing Under NYC’s Stars

Romance novelists discuss the allure of romantic fiction set in New York City, and the issues that lovers face when trying to fall and stay in love in the greatest city in the world.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Kate Clayborn (Love Lettering), Kwana Jackson (Real Men Knit), Ruby Lang (The Uptown Collection),  Zoey Castile (Happy Endings Series)

Moderator: Norma Perez-Hernandez, Assistant Editor at Kensington

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Unapologetic & Searching: Latinx Voices in Fiction

Critically acclaimed Latinx writers will discuss their unapologetic approach to writing and the ways that themes of searching, revelation, and discovery appear in their work. How did literary forebears, current events, and craft influence these decisions? What implications are there for the reader?

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Lorraine Avila (Malcriada), Melissa Rivero (The Affairs of the Falcóns), Ivelisse Rodriguez (Love War Stories)

Moderator: Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa (Daughters of the Stone)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Unbreakable Time

Speculative fiction and fantasy writers discuss their approaches to writing the past, present, and future in worlds that shift perspectives about where we've been and where we're going.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: N.K. Jemisin (The City We Became), Victor Lavalle (Changeling), Tochi Onyebuchi (Riot Baby), Alaya Dawn Johnson (Trouble the Saints)

Moderator: P. Djèlí Clark (The Black God’s Drums)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR

 

 

Middle Grade Panels

Coming of Age

Whether it’s 1984 or today, coming of age is never easy. And when the familiar is questioned and new paths are presented, what’s a kid to do? Join as these authors discuss their books and how to begin to find your own places in the world even when it feels like everything is uncertain.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Cheryl and Wade Hudson (Brave. Black. First. and We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices), Debbie Michiko Florence (Keep It Together, Keiko Carter), Ibi Zoboi (My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich), Jamia Wilson (Young, Gifted, and Black)

Moderator: Torrey Maldonado (What Lane?)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


A Kid’s Hero Journey

Being a kid is tough, being a kid called to adventure is definitely tougher. But these kids don’t shy away from danger, they take heed and are the heroes of their stories. Join these middle-grade authors as they discuss their novels and the journeys their protagonists undertake in familiar and unfamiliar worlds.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Adam Gidwitz (Unicorn Rescue Society: The Madres de Aguas of Cuba), Claribel A. Ortega (Ghost Squad), Katie Zhao (The Fallen Hero), Tracey Baptiste (The Jumbie God’s Revenge)

Moderator: Ellen Oh (Dragon Egg Princess)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Family, Friends, and Finding Yourself

These authors have beautifully articulated the struggles that young kids face in their novels. Join as they discuss the very real challenges, tough choices, and discoveries that their characters face in these middle-grade books on family, friends, and finding yourself.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Janae Marks (From the Desk of Zoe Washington), Pablo Cartaya (Each Tiny Spark), Renée Watson (Some Places More Than Others)

Moderator: Shelley Diaz, New York and Brooklyn Public Library Youth Selector

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR

 

 

Young Adult Panels

Remixing the Rainbow: Queer Authors of Color in Discussion

Queer authors of color discuss their work--from the craft of writing to how their identity does or does not impact what they write to their successes and struggles to launch and build a career.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Aiden Thomas (Cemetery Boys), Arvin Ahmadi (Girl Gone Viral), Dhonielle Clayton (Everlasting Rose), George M. Johnson (All Boys Aren't Blue)

Moderator: Patrice Caldwell (A Phoenix First Must Burn)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Black Enough: Celebrating Black Voices

Inspired by the Black Enough anthology, edited by Ibi Zoboi, this YA panel celebrates Black authors and their stories as they remind the world that they are not a monolith.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Brandy Colbert (The Only Black Girls in Town), Camryn Garrett (Full Disclosure), Leah Johnson (You Should See Me in a Crown)

Moderator: Ibi Zoboi (Black Enough, My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Building Better Worlds

When the outside world seems as unbelievable as fantasy, young adult authors create new worlds from what they know. These speculative fiction authors bring lived experiences to worlds built from fantastical kingdoms, code, a magical circus, and Puerto Rico threatened by both natural and supernatural forces. Join them in a discussion about their inspiration for the worlds they build.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Coco Ma (Shadow Frost), Ann Dávila Cardinal (Category Five), Elizabeth Lim (Spin the Dawn), Janella Angeles (Where Dreams Descend)

Moderator: Arvin Ahmadi (Girl Gone Viral)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


Beyond the Genre: When Worlds Collide

You know the genres, the tropes, the archetypes - but you‘ve never read stories like these before.  Worlds collide in this panel as young adult authors break down the conventions of their respective genres and share how each of their stories are connected by one thing: human connections and our need for them.

Recorded or Live: Recorded 

Panelists: Andrew Fukuda (This Light Between Us), Coco Ma (Shadow Frost), Swati Teerdhala (The Tiger at Midnight), Sona Charaipotra (Symptoms of a Heartbreak)

SUBMIT YOUR RECEIPT TO BRONXBOOKFEST@GMAIL.COM TO RECEIVE A SIGNED BOOKPLATE FROM THE AUTHOR


 

 Bronx Book Festival Virtual Panels

 
 

Adult Panels

All I Need is One Mic

 
 

Shop this Panel

Shop Graphics (1).png

Poets & Essayists discuss craft, inspiration, and community.

Panelists: Andrés Cerpa (Bicycle in a Ransacked City: An Elegy), Roya Marsh (dayliGht), Vanessa Mártir (Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture, Anthology edited by Roxane Gay) Moderator: Sarah Gonzalez, Publicist, Mil Mundos Bookstore


 
 

Shop this Panel

Kissing Under NYC’s Stars

Romance novelists discuss the allure of romantic fiction set in New York City, and the issues that lovers face when trying to fall and stay in love in the greatest city in the world.

Panelists: Kate Clayborn (Love Lettering), Kwana Jackson (Real Men Knit), Ruby Lang (The Uptown Collection),  Zoey Castile (Happy Endings Series)

Moderator: Norma Perez-Hernandez, Assistant Editor at Kensington


 
 
 

Shop this Panel

Unapologetic & Searching: Latinx Voices in Fiction

Critically acclaimed Latinx writers will discuss their unapologetic approach to writing and the ways that themes of searching, revelation, and discovery appear in their work. How did literary forebears, current events, and craft influence these decisions? What implications are there for the reader?

Panelists: Lorraine Avila (Malcriada), Melissa Rivero (The Affairs of the Falcóns), Ivelisse Rodriguez (Love War Stories)

Moderator: Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa (Daughters of the Stone)


 
 
 

Shop this Panel

Unbreakable Time

Speculative fiction and fantasy writers discuss their approaches to writing the past, present, and future in worlds that shift perspectives about where we've been and where we're going.

Panelists: N.K. Jemisin (The City We Became), Victor LaValle (Changeling), Tochi Onyebuchi (Riot Baby), Alaya Dawn Johnson (Trouble the Saints)

Moderator: P. Djèlí Clark (The Black God’s Drums)


 
 

Middle Grade Panels

 

Shop this Panel

Shop Graphics (2).png

Coming of Age

Whether it’s 1984 or today, coming of age is never easy. And when the familiar is questioned and new paths are presented, what’s a kid to do? Join as these authors discuss their books and how to begin to find your own places in the world even when it feels like everything is uncertain.

Panelists: Cheryl and Wade Hudson (Brave. Black. First. and We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices), Debbie Michiko Florence (Keep It Together, Keiko Carter), Ibi Zoboi (My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich), Jamia Wilson (Young, Gifted, and Black)

Moderator: Torrey Maldonado (What Lane?)


 
 
 

Shop this Panel

Shop Graphics.png

A Kid’s Hero Journey

Being a kid is tough, being a kid called to adventure is definitely tougher. But these kids don’t shy away from danger, they take heed and are the heroes of their stories. Join these middle-grade authors as they discuss their novels and the journeys their protagonists undertake in familiar and unfamiliar worlds.

Panelists: Adam Gidwitz (Unicorn Rescue Society: The Madres de Aguas of Cuba), Claribel A. Ortega (Ghost Squad), Katie Zhao (The Fallen Hero), Tracey Baptiste (The Jumbie God’s Revenge)

Moderator: Ellen Oh (Dragon Egg Princess)


 
 
 

Shop this Panel

Family, Friends, and Finding Yourself

These authors have beautifully articulated the struggles that young kids face in their novels. Join as they discuss the very real challenges, tough choices, and discoveries that their characters face in these middle-grade books on family, friends, and finding yourself.

Panelists: Janae Marks (From the Desk of Zoe Washington), Pablo Cartaya (Each Tiny Spark), Renée Watson (Some Places More Than Others)

Moderator: Shelley Diaz, New York and Brooklyn Public Library Youth Selector


 
 

Young Adult Panels

 

Shop this Panel

Shop Graphics (3).png

Remixing the Rainbow: Queer Authors of Color in Discussion

Queer authors of color discuss their work--from the craft of writing to how their identity does or does not impact what they write to their successes and struggles to launch and build a career.

Panelists: Aiden Thomas (Cemetery Boys), Arvin Ahmadi (Girl Gone Viral), Dhonielle Clayton (Everlasting Rose), George M. Johnson (All Boys Aren't Blue)

Moderator: Patrice Caldwell (A Phoenix First Must Burn)


 
 
 

Shop this Panel

2.png

Black Enough: Celebrating Black Voices

Inspired by the Black Enough anthology, edited by Ibi Zoboi, this YA panel celebrates Black authors and their stories as they remind the world that they are not a monolith.

Panelists: Brandy Colbert (The Only Black Girls in Town), Camryn Garrett (Full Disclosure), Leah Johnson (You Should See Me in a Crown)

Moderator: Ibi Zoboi (Black Enough, My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich)


 
 
 

Shop this Panel

12.png

Building Better Worlds

When the outside world seems as unbelievable as fantasy, young adult authors create new worlds from what they know. These speculative fiction authors bring lived experiences to worlds built from fantastical kingdoms, code, a magical circus, and Puerto Rico threatened by both natural and supernatural forces. Join them in a discussion about their inspiration for the worlds they build.

Panelists: Coco Ma (Shadow Frost), Ann Dávila Cardinal (Category Five), Elizabeth Lim (Spin the Dawn), Janella Angeles (Where Dreams Descend)

Moderator: Arvin Ahmadi (Girl Gone Viral)


 
 
 

Shop this Panel

3.png

Beyond the Genre: When Worlds Collide

You know the genres, the tropes, the archetypes - but you‘ve never read stories like these before.  Worlds collide in this panel as young adult authors break down the conventions of their respective genres and share how each of their stories are connected by one thing: human connections and our need for them.

Panelists: Andrew Fukuda (This Light Between Us), Coco Ma (Shadow Frost), Swati Teerdhala (The Tiger at Midnight), Sona Charaipotra (Symptoms of a Heartbreak)