Mexican American author, filmmaker and youth literacy activist e.E. Charlton-Trujillo has written several award-winning books for teens and children, most notably the Fat Angie series, an ALA Stonewall Award Winner, and Prizefighter en Mi Casa, a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Winner. Their first picture book, Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules, co-authored with NYT Bestseller Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by award-winning illustrator Joe Cepeda, releases June 2022. e.E. is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Never Counted Out that supports access to books and creative  mentorship for at-risk youth and is co-host of the Instagram Live series Off The Cuff. Trujillo is a proud member of the Las Musas collective.

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Rubén Degollado’s work has appeared in Bilingual Review/Revista Bilingüe, Beloit Fiction Journal, Gulf Coast, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Image, Relief, and the anthologies Living Beyond Borders and Nepantla Familias. His YA novel, Throw, was published in 2019 and won the Texas Institute of Letters 2020 Award for Best Young Adult Book, was included on the Texas Library Association 2020 TAYSHAS list of best books for teen readers, and was a Christianity Today 2020 Book of Merit. Rubén’s debut literary novel, The Family Izquierdo, published in 2022 by W.W. Norton, is now available from all your favorite book sellers!

Alda P. Dobbs is the author of the historical novels Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna and its follow-up, The Other Side of the River (September 2022). Her debut novel received a Pura Belpre Honor and is a Texas Bluebonnet Master List selection. Alda was born in a small town in northern Mexico but moved to San Antonio, Texas as a child. She studied physics and worked as an engineer before pursuing her love of storytelling. She’s as passionate about connecting children to their past, their communities, different cultures and nature as she is about writing. Alda lives with her husband and two children outside Houston, Texas.

Beth Fehlbaum is the author of the YA novels Find the Moon, Big Fat Disaster, The Patience Trilogy (Courage in Patience, Hope in Patience, and Truth in Patience), and co-author of the creative non-fiction book Trauma Recovery: Sessions with Dr. Matt.
She is a high school English teacher. Authenticity and finding one’s voice are frequent themes in Beth’s work, and they are absolutely essential themes in her life, as well.

Emily writes historical fiction for children and teens. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and is a former teacher.

During World War II, Emily’s family was evacuated from their homes and farms in California and Washington State. Her grandparents, Charles and Bessie, met and married in Wyoming’s Heart Mountain Internment Camp. Her father was born in the camp hospital. When the war ended, the family was sent to Utah, where they started over and where Emily still lives, now with her husband, Robert, and their four children.

Besides books, Emily’s passions include education, the arts, the outdoors, and her family.

Sabina Khan is the author of THE LOVE & LIES OF RUKHSANA ALI, a YA Contemporary, coming in Spring 2019 from Scholastic. She is an educational consultant and a karaoke enthusiast. After living in Germany, Bangladesh, Macao, Illinois and Texas, she has finally settled down in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, with her husband and three daughters, one of whom is a fur baby.

Laekan Zea Kemp is a writer living in Austin, Texas. Her debut novel, Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet was a 2022 Pura Belpré Honor Recipient. In addition to writing she’s also the creator and host of the Author Pep Talks podcast, as well as a contributor to the Las Musas podcast. She has three objectives when it comes to storytelling: to make people laugh, cry, and crave Mexican food. Her work celebrates Chicane grit, resilience, creativity, and joy while exploring themes of identity and mental health.

Hi! I’m young adult author Jennifer Mathieu (pronounced Muh-two, but if you speak French you can pronounce it better than that. Sadly, I don’t speak French.) I’m a writer and English teacher who lives in Texas with my family. A native of the East Coast and a former journalist, I enjoy writing contemporary young adult fiction that treats teenagers like real people. I love to eat and hate to cook.