Category: Author

A two-time National Book Award Finalist, Laura Ruby writes fiction for adults, teens and children. She is the author of the Printz Medal Winning novel Bone Gap,  as well as Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All.  Other works include the Edgar®-nominated children’s mystery Lily’s Ghosts,  the ALA Quick Pick for teens Good Girls, the York trilogy, and the picture book Me and Ms. Too. Laura is on the faculty of Hamline University’s Masters in Writing for Children Program. She makes her home in the Chicago area, and you can visit her online at https://lauraruby.com/.

Laura will be participating in the following presentations during the AFBF. At 11:20, she will be part of “Laughter and Tears: Books that Share Stories of Families, Yesterday and Today” and at 2:40 “Truth in the Fiction: The Power of Authenticity in Novels for Teens.”

The following titles will be featured at the Festival:

Thirteen Doorways: Wolves Behind Them All
Bone Gap
Me and Ms. Too
York: The Shadow Cipher
York The Clockwork Ghost
York: The Map of Stars

Calvin Alexander Ramsey is a playwright, writer, and photographer. He is the author of Ruth and the Green Book and Belle, the Last Mule at Gees Bend and was a recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award. He was born in Baltimore but grew up in Roxboro, North Carolina and now splits his time between New York City and Sarasota, Florida. Learn more at his website: http://calvinalexanderramseysr.com/

Calvin will be participating in one presentation during the AFBF. At 11:20, he will be part of “Laughter and Tears: Books that Share Stories of Families, Yesterday and Today.”

The following titles will be featured at the Festival:

Ruthie and the Green Book
Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend

Linda Sue Park is the author of many books for young readers, including the 2002 Newbery Medal winner A Single Shard and the NYTimes bestseller A Long Walk to Water. Her most recent title is The One Thing You’d Save, a collection of linked poems. Linda Sue serves on the advisory boards of We Need Diverse Books and the Rabbit hOle museum project, and created the kiBooka website, www.kibooka.com, to highlight Korean American creators of children’s books. Visit her website at www.lindasuepark.com; follow her on Twitter @LindaSuePark.

Linda Sue will be participating in several presentations during the AFBF. At 12:40, she will be part of “Making Space for Stories: Three Poets Share Their Novels in Verse,” and at 2:00 “Truth in the Fiction: The Power of Authenticity in Novels for TeensBite-Sized Read-Alouds: A Book Tasting for Hungry Readers (Each author will give a three-minute reading!).”

The following titles will be featured at the Festival:

A Single Shard
Long Walk to Water
Prairie Lotus
The One Thing You’d Save
Bee-bim Bop!
Gurple and Preen

New York Times bestselling author Kate Messner is passionately curious and has written more than fifty books for kids who wonder, too. Her award-winning titles include picture books like Over and Under the Snow and The Brilliant Deep; novels like Breakout and Chirp; engaging nonfiction like The Next President and the History Smashers series; the Ranger in Time adventures; and the Fergus and Zeke easy readers. Kate lives on Lake Champlain. Online, you’ll find her on Twitter @KateMessner, and at her website, katemessner.com.

Kate will be participating in several presentations during the AFBF. At 10:400, she will be part of “Hidden History: Three Nonfiction Authors Share the Stories Behind Their Books,” and at 2:00 “Bite-Sized Read-Alouds: A Book Tasting for Hungry Readers (Each author will give a three-minute reading!).”

The following titles will be featured at the Festival:

History Smashers: The Mayflower
History Smashers: The Underground Railroad
Chirp
Breakout
Over and Under the Pond
Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail

Kekla Magoon (she/her) writes novels and nonfiction for young readers, exploring themes of identity, community, empowerment, and social justice. Acclaimed titles include The Season of Styx Malone (winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award), How It Went Down (a Coretta Scott King Honor book), and Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People, which was a Michael L. Printz Honor winner and National Book Award Finalist. Kekla loves ice cream, board games, and her two energetic orange cats. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she now teaches. Learn more at her website: https://keklamagoon.com/

Kekla will be participating in several presentations during the AFBF. At 10:400, she will be part of “Hidden History: Three Nonfiction Authors Share the Stories Behind Their Books,” at 12:00 “Let’s Build a Character! An All-Ages Writing Workshop with Kekla Magoon” and at 2:40 “Truth in the Fiction: The Power of Authenticity in Novels for Teens.”

The following titles will be featured at the Festival:

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People
The Season of Styx Malone
Chester Keene Cracks the Code
Thurgood Marshall’s Life Leadership and Legacy
Shadows of Sherwood
How It Went Down  

Kyle Lukoff is the author of many books for young readers. His debut middle-grade novel, Too Bright To See, received a Newbery honor and the Stonewall award, and was a National Book Award finalist. His picture book When Aidan Became A Brother also won the Stonewall award. His newest titles are the novel Different Kinds of Fruit and the non-fiction picture book If You’re A Kid Like Gavin. While becoming a writer he worked as a bookseller for ten years, and then nine more years as a school librarian. He hopes you’re having a nice day. http://www.kylelukoff.com/

Kyle will be participating in several presentations during the AFBF. At 11:20, he will be part of “Laughter and Tears: Books that Share Stories of Families,Yesterday and Today” and at 2:00 “Bite-Sized Read-Alouds: A Book Tasting for Hungry Readers (Each author will give a three-minute reading!).”

The following books will be featured at the Festival:

Too Bright To See
When Aidan Became A Brother
Different Kinds of Fruit
If You’re A Kid Like Gavin
The Sunken Ship (Mermaid Days #1)
A Storytelling of Ravens

Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning books for young readers. Her middle grade novel in verse, Red, White, and Whole, is the winner of the 2022 Walter Dean Myers Award and a 2022 John Newbery Honor. She’s always been an omnivorous reader, and now she’s an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels and picture books, prose and poetry. She finds inspiration in her family, her childhood, the natural world, math, science, and just about everywhere she looks. Learn more about her at www.RajaniLaRocca.com.

Rajani will be participating in several presentations during the AFBF. At 12:40, she will be part of “Making Space for Stories: Three Poets Share Their Novels in Verse” and at 2:00 “Bite-Sized Read-Alouds: A Book Tasting for Hungry Readers (Each author will give a three-minute reading!).”

The following books will be featured at the Festival:

Red, White, and Whole
Midsummer’s Mayhem
Much Ado About Baseball
I’ll Go and Come Back
Where Three Oceans Meet
The Secret Code Inside of You

An enrolled citizen of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation, Joseph Bruchac has authored over 170 books in many genres. His poems, essays, and stories have appeared in hundreds of publications from Parabola and National Geographic to Paris Review. His experiences, in addition to college teaching, include three years of volunteer teaching in Ghana and eight years directing a college program inside a maximum security prison. In 2021 his novel Code Talker was chosen by Time as one of the 100 best YA books of all time. His novel Rez Dogs was listed among the best books of 2021 by NPR. Learn more at https://www.josephbruchac.com/

Joseph will be participating in several presentations during the AFBF. At 12:40, he will be part of “Making Space for Stories: Three Poets Share Their Novels in Verse” and at 2:00 find him at “Bite-Sized Read-Alouds: A Book Tasting for Hungry Readers”(Each author will give a three-minute reading!).

The following books will be featured:

Code Talker
Peacemaker
A Peacemaker for Warring Nations
Rez Dogs