Kyle Lukoff is the author of many books for young readers. His debut middle-grade novel, Too Bright To See, received a Newbery honor, the Stonewall award, and was a National Book Award finalist. His picture book, When Aidan Became A Brother, also won the Stonewall. He has forthcoming books about mermaids, babies, apologies, and lots of other topics. While becoming a writer he worked as a bookseller for ten years, and then nine additional years as a school librarian.

Karen M. McManus is a #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of young adult thrillers. Her books include the One of Us Is Lying series, which has been turned into a television show on Peacock, as well as the standalone novels Two Can Keep a Secret, The Cousins, You’ll Be the Death of Me, Nothing More to Tell, and Such Charming Liars. Karen's critically acclaimed, award-winning work has been translated into more than forty languages.

Stacey Abrams is the author of the NAACP Image Award winners Stacey’s Extraordinary Words and Stacey’s Remarkable Books. A tax attorney by training, she served eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven as Minority Leader. She has launched multiple organizations devoted to voting rights, training and hiring young people of color, and tackling social issues at the state, national, and international levels. Committed to the pursuit of equity, she works to break barriers for young people, people of color, and the marginalized through her work in politics, nonprofit, and corporate sectors.

Anna Adams is a French-American lawyer-turned-author. Born in France, raised partly in the United States and in France, she currently lives in Paris. A French Girl in New York is her first novel.

Flora Ahn is an attorney by day and an author and illustrator by night. Her work includes A Spoonful of Time (Quirk 2023), a children's chapter book series, Pug Pals and an Audible Original, The Golden Orchard. Raised in California by her Korean immigrant parents, Ahn lives in Virginia with her two pugs.

Nathalie Alonso is a Cuban American bilingual writer and journalist based in New York City. A seasoned baseball reporter, her writing has appeared in National Geographic, Outside, and Refinery29, among other outlets. She is currently a reporter and producer at MLB.com’s Spanish-language sister site, LasMayores.com. Visit nathaliealonso.com.

Lena Anlauf was born in the Ruhr region of Germany. Growing up, the Taschen-Brockhaus Tiere quickly became one of her favorite books, and she set up snail conservation areas in her backyard. Later on, she studied book studies and philosophy in Mainz and Leiden and completed a further education course on pedagogy of literacy and literature, as well as, a remote course on children’s and young adult literature at the STUBE in Vienna. Today she lives in Marburg, works as editorial director and editor at the kunstanstifter verlag, researches historical picture books, and writes and designs her own book projects.

Tracey Baptiste is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one books and several short stories for children. She writes fiction and nonfiction picture books, middle-grade, young adult, and graphic novels. She is best known for the horror-adventure Jumbies series and Minecraft: The Crash. Tracey lives in New Jersey and can be found online at traceybaptiste.com .

Annie Barrows is a bestselling author of many books for both children and adults, including the beloved Ivy + Bean series, which can also be seen on Netflix, the Iggy series, the young adult novel Nothing, and the bestselling novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. She lives in Northern California.

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow is a Philadelphia-based educator and award-winning children’s book author. Her books, which center young Black Muslims, have been recognized as the best in children’s literature by Time Magazine, Read Across America, and NPR. These works include Mommy’s Khimar, Once Upon an Eid (anthology contributor), and Your Name is a Song, an Irma Black Award Honor book.

Alexis Castellanos was born and raised in Florida where she enjoyed sunny days, dramatic thunderstorms, and delicious Cuban food. After graduating from college, she moved to New York City and worked as a scenic artist, bringing theatrical sets to life with a little bit of paint and a whole lot of ingenuity. She currently works as a graphic designer by day and spends her nights dreaming up stories. She is the author of the graphic novel Isla to Island. Guava and Grudges is her debut YA. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner and two cats.

Jorge Cham is the Daytime Emmy-nominated and best-selling cartoonist creator of the comic strip “Piled Higher and Deeper.” He is the co-creator/Executive Producer/Creative Director of “Elinor Wonders Why” and the co-author of two popular science books. Jorge is also the co-host/co-creator of “Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe” an ongoing popular podcast/radio show. Originally from Panama, he obtained his Ph.D. in robotics from Stanford and was an Instructor/Research Associate at Caltech.

Dana Claire is an award-winning author whose stories explore identity, fate, and destiny at the crossroads of romance and adventure. Her love of romantic tension and the supernatural effortlessly translates into spine-tingling action and unforgettable characters. Dana is also sharing her stories through speaking events and book signings. She lives in Los Angeles with her adoring husband, living her dreams: writing books, telling stories, and changing the world, one reader at a time.

Sarah Dass was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. A graduate of the University of the West Indies and University College London, she works as an Office Administrator by day and writes stories about growing up in the Caribbean by night. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing, or taking walks with her dachshund. The only thing she loves more than a lazy day at home is exploring new countries. Find her online at SarahDass.com and on Instagram @SarahDassWrites and Twitter @SarahDassAuthor.

Sarah Davidson is a comic book illustrator and colorist from Savannah, GA currently working on her MFA in Sequential Art. Currently, she’s working on her first OGN through Papercutz/Mad Cave Studios, and recently colored graphic novels for Nidhi Chanani ("Super Boba Cafe," Abrams books) and Audrey Meeker ("SWING," Feiwel and Friends). As a freelance comic illustrator and colorist, her clients include Level Ground Comics, Comics Experience, High Noon Films LTD, Adorable Abominations LLC, Real Buzz Studios, Hamilton: The Exhibition, Day 6 Entertainment, WEBTOON, and Wattpad.

Sally Denmead is an opera singer, director, and actor who moved from Brooklyn to Pittsburgh, where she fell in love with the plays of August Wilson. A Song for August: The Inspiring Life of Playwright August Wilson is her first book. She lives with her husband in Pittsburgh, PA.

Hayley Dennings loves stories centered on queer female characters. A recent graduate from Loyola Marymount University, she discusses books and writing on her Pages of Hayley YouTube channel. Seeing people like her represented in books encouraged her to write her own books and pursue publishing. She currently resides in the Bay Area, working as an editorial and marketing associate. When Hayley is not working, she is spending time with her dogs, reading, painting, and baking.

Matthew Erman is a writer from Columbus, Ohio creator of the critically acclaimed series Long Lost (Scout Comics) and Witchblood (Vault Comics). Since then, he's been the creator of the sci-fi emotional apocalypse series Good Luck (BOOM!), Terminal Punks (Mad Cave Studios), and the hillbilly cosmic horror GOLGOTHA MOTOR MOUNTAIN (IDW) the original graphic novels BONDING (Vault Comics) and Mariko Between Worlds (Mad Cave Studios). Matthew makes his Dark Horse Comics debut with LOVING, OHIO in Summer of 2024. HEEBIE JEEBIES is Matthew’s third book for younger readers.

Alexene Farol Follmuth is the author of the young adult rom-coms Twelfth Knight and My Mechanical Romance. As Olivie Blake, she is the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six, Alone with You in the Ether, One for My Enemy, and Masters of Death. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, goblin prince/toddler, and rescue pit bull.

Alison Gervais is the author of In 27 Days and The Silence Between Us, for which she received the 2020 Schneider Family Honor Book Award. Alison works at a nonprofit organization that provides services to people with disabilities and writes as often as she can. Currently she lives in Colorado with her husband and their two daughters. 

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s work for President Johnson inspired her career as a presidential historian. Her first book was Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. She followed up with the Pulitzer Prize–winning No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Homefront in World War II. She earned the Lincoln Prize for Team of Rivals, in part the basis for Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln, and the Carnegie Medal for The Bully Pulpit. Her most recent book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, provides a front-row seat to the pivotal people and events of this momentous decade. 

Markelle Grabo retells the fairy tales that frustrate her, which, based on that guideline, could include nearly all of them. She earned her master's degree in creative writing for children and young adults from Hamline University and lives in Illinois with her partner and their two cats, Matcha and Kava. Call Forth a Fox is her debut novel. 

Chatham Greenfield is a young adult author and an enthusiast of gay disabled love stories. They’re a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and a fellow in the inaugural class of LitUp by Reese’s Book Club. Born and raised in Florida, their stories often take place in far too humid seaside towns. You can find them wherever there’s air conditioning, wrapped up in a blanket, reading a voice driven novel. 

Annemarie Riley Guertin is the author of several books for children. Her titles include How the Finch Got His Colors, Why Evergreens Keep Their Leaves, The Monsters on the Broom, and ABC, Rise Up and Be! Annemarie works as a high school early education CTE teacher in Methuen, Massachusetts. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Michael, and their two children. 

Rudy Gutierrez is an artist and children’s book illustrator. He received the Pura Belpre Honor for Illustration for his work on Papa and Me by Arthur Dorros, a Caldecott Honor for Double Bass Blues by Andrea J. Loney, and the Américas Book Award for Pelé, King of Soccer by Monica Brown, among many other honors. Rudy teaches illustration at the Pratt Institute School of Design in New York City. 

Rob Harrell is the author/illustrator of Wink and the Batpig series, created the Life of Zarf series, the graphic novel Monster on the Hill, and writes and draws the long-running daily comic strip Adam@Home, which appears in more than 140 papers worldwide. He created and drew the internationally syndicated comic strip Big Top until 2007. He lives with his wife in Indiana. 

Deidre Havrelock is a member of Saddle Lake Cree Nation. She grew up in Edmonton, AB, Canada with a ghost in her house, a feminist for a grandma, and wishing she had a buffalo for a pet! Over the years, she has lived in various wonderful places both in Canada and the USA. Currently, she resides in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan—Treaty 6 Territory and Homeland of the Métis. Deidre is the author of Buffalo Wild! and Indigenous Ingenuity which was co-authored with Edward Kay. 

Louise Hung is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. She is the writer/producer of hundreds of videos for the YouTube channel Ask a Mortician and wrote the "Creepy Corner" column for xoJane (RIP). You can find more of Louise's work at HuffPost, The Order of the Good Death, Time, and the podcast Death in the Afternoon. Louise spends her days with four black cats, her husband, and an immortal cactus. 

Jordan Ifueko grew up eating fried plantain while reading comic books under a blanket fort. Eventually, she switched the comics for a notebook and started writing about empresses. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their collection of Black Panther Funko Pops. 

Candice Jalili is an Iranian American writer based in New York City. Her work has appeared in Cosmopolitan, The Cut, Rolling Stone, Elite Daily, and more. Finding Famous: A Mashad Family Story is her first novel. She grew up in the Bay Area and spends hours of her days FaceTiming her parents there. You can find her on Instagram at @CandiceJalili and online at www.CandiceJalili.com. 

Gail Jarrow is the author of nonfiction books and novels for readers ages 8–18. Her nonfiction books have earned the Sibert Honor, the Orbis Pictus Honor, the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, YALSA Finalist, a Notable Social Studies Trade Book, Outstanding Science Trade Book, a NSTA Best STEM book, the Jefferson Cup Award, the Eureka! Gold Award, as well as Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and School Library Journal Best Books and VOYA Honor Book distinctions. Visit gailjarrow.com.  

Hena Khan is a Pakistani American writer. She is the author of the middle-grade novel Amina’s Voice, which was selected as a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus, NPR, Washington Post, and Chicago Public Library. Her other titles include Amina’s Song, More to the Story, and the Zara’s Rules series and picture books Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, Under My Hijab, and It’s Ramadan, Curious George, among others. Hena lives in her hometown of Rockville, Maryland, with her family. 

Lin King is a writer and translator from Taipei, Taiwan. Her work has appeared in publications including Boston Review, Joyland, Asymptote, and Columbia Journal, and has won the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She translates from Mandarin Chinese and Japanese to English, and her translation of Yang Shuang-zi's Taiwan Travelogue is forthcoming from Graywolf Press. 

Vitali Konstantinov was born in Ukraine. As a child he saw the desman at the natural history museum and was fascinated. Vitali studied architecture, graphic art, painting, and art history, and has taught illustration courses at universities in several countries as well as numerous workshops for children. His work has been exhibited extensively, has received many prizes, and has been published in forty different countries. Most recently he was nominated for the Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis. Today Vitali works as a freelance illustrator and author and lives in Marburg. 

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, including the Newbery Honor-winning middle-grade novel in verse, Red, White, and Whole. She’s always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels and picture books, prose and poetry. She also co-hosts the STEM Women in KidLit Podcast. Learn more about Rajani and her books at RajaniLaRocca.com . 

Andrew Larsen has written more than twenty books for children, including The Man Who Loved Libraries: The Story of Andrew Carnegie, The Bagel King and A Squiggly Story. His books have been nominated for awards in both Canada and the United States. He began writing for children when he became a stay-at-home dad. His kids are all grown up now, but Andrew continues to write. Andrew lives in Toronto, Canada with his wife and his dog, Sally. 

Lawrence Lindell is an artist, musician and educator from California who works in many artistic disciplines, including comics, music, illustration, and mixed media. He is the co-founder of Laneha House. Lindell’s work focuses on Mental Health, Blackness and Queerness. 

Loren Long is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Otis picture book series, now an animated television series on Apple+. He’s also the illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama, Love by Matt de la Peña, and Change Sings by Presidential Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman. He lives near Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife and rescue dog, Charlie. 

Kristi McManus is a registered nurse by trade but has been an avid reader and enthusiastic book lover all her life. Her debut novel, Our Vengeful Souls, was released in summer 2023 by CamCat Books. When she’s not writing, she enjoys photography and art and counts napping as cardio. She lives in Toronto with her husband. 

After studying Fine art and Illustration at Coventry University Hazel Mead pursued her childhood dream of becoming an illustrator. She loves combining beautiful imagery and diverse characters with meaning and story, and often creates social commentary images that tackle taboos. As an idea generator, Hazel finds joy in the process of using illustration to solve clients' communication needs. 

Yamile Saied Méndez is the author of many books for young readers, including Furia, a Reese's YA Book Club selection and the 2021 Inaugural Pura Belpré Young Adult Gold Medalist. She was born and raised in Rosario, Argentina and currently lives in Utah. She is an Inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient and graduated from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s a founding member of Las Musas, a marketing collective of Latine authors. You can find her online at yamilemendez.com.  

Garth Nix is the New York Times bestselling author of the Old Kingdom series, a modern classic of fantasy literature that includes the novels Sabriel, Lireal, Abhorsen, and Clariel. He is also the author of The Keys to the Kingdom series, Shade's Children, A Confusion of Princes, Newt's Emerald, and (with Sean Williams) the Troubletwisters series, among other novels. You can find out a whole lot more about him at garthnix.com. 

Sam Nakahira is a comic artist and cultural worker from Los Angeles. She makes comics about overlooked histories, the natural world, dreams, and more. 

Zandile Ndhlovu is South Africa’s first Black female free diving instructor. After looking beneath the surface of the ocean for the first time in her life at age twenty-eight, she decided she needed to help make the seas more accessible and diverse. Realizing it needed to start with young people, Ndhlovu set up the Black Mermaid Foundation, which works to create diverse representation in ocean spaces—in sports, in careers, and recreationally. In 2022 she was named one of the Global Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent. Follow the author on TikTok/ Instagram @ZanditheMermaid. 

Preston Norton teaches environmental science to fifth graders. He is the author of Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe, Where I End & You Begin, and Hopepunk. He is married with three cats.

Award-winning author Wendy Orr was born in Edmonton, Alberta and has since lived around the world, including several years in Colorado, France, and England, and currently Melbourne, Australia. Wendy’s many books for children have been published in 27 countries. Prominent among them is Nim’s Island, which was made into the 2008 film of the same name; a 2013 sequel, Return to Nim’s Island, was loosely based on Orr’s book Nim at Sea. 

Carlos Pintado is a poet, playwright, essayist, and fiction writer born in Cuba, who now lives in Miami. He won the Paz Prize from the National Poetry Series for his book Nine Coins/Nueve monedas, the Sant Jordi International Poetry Prize for his collection Habitación a oscuras, and the Sundial House Book Translation Prize for Music for Bamboo Strings. He has been published in the New York Times, World Literature Today, and Vogue, and numerous composers/classical music groups have set music to/sung his poems. HaiCuba/HaiKuba is his debut work for younger readers. 

James Ponti is the New York Times bestselling author of four middle grade book series: The Sherlock Society following a group of young detectives; City Spies; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series; and the Dead City trilogy. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists, and he is the founder of a writers' group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy–nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, Spike TV, and NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. 

Kirk Scroggs is the author and illustrator of The Secret Spiral of Swamp Kid and We Found a Monster. He has been publishing illustrated middle-grade novels for over fifteen years. Kirk lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Steve, and an ungrateful cat. He invites you to visit him online at kirkscroggs.com . 

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the bestselling, acclaimed author of Rain Is Not My Indian Name, Indian Shoes, Jingle Dancer, and Hearts Unbroken, which won the American Indian Youth Literature Award; she is also the anthologist of Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids. Cynthia is the author-curator of Heartdrum, and serves as the Katherine Paterson Inaugural Endowed Chair on the faculty of the MFA program in writing for children and young adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and lives in Austin, Texas. You can visit Cynthia online at cynthialeitichsmith.com. 

Born in 1939 and still performing in her 80s, Mavis Staples is one of the most admired musicians in the country. She holds multiple Grammy Awards including a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, is a Kennedy Center Honoree, and can be found in the Blues, Gospel, and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame. She and her family, The Staple Singers, were also known for their dedication to Civil Rights activism. 

Karen Strong is the critically acclaimed author of middle grade novels Just South of Home, Eden’s Everdark, and The Secret Dead Club. She is also a Star Wars contributor featured in Stories of Jedi and Sith, and the editor of the young adult anthology Cool.Awkward. Black. Her work has been praised by Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and School Library Journal and has also received recognition as a Cybils Award Finalist, Ignyte Award Finalist, BCCB Blue Ribbon selection, and Junior Library Guild Gold selection. 

As a young child, Stacey Wells loved sweets of all kinds. As an adult her love of food expanded to tacos with spicy salsa and cheese. She, however, does not like raisins. Stacy is a member of the Choctaw Nation and lives in Texas with her family, which includes a red dog named Blu and two very mischievous ferrets.  

Leslie Stall Widener is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She has illustrated six Choctaw-related picture books: Chukfi Rabbit’s Big, Bad Bellyache; The Turkey Who Liked to Show Off; Why the Turtle Has Cracks on His Back; The Story of Tanchi; Why the Possum Has No Hair on His Tail; and Why Rabbit Has a Short Tail. Leslie lives in McKinney, Texas. 

Alicia Abdul is a high school librarian in Albany, NY. She shares her reading (and dresses) on Instagram @ReadersBeAdvised and blogs at readersbeadvised.wordpress.com. She's served or chaired on several YALSA book committees, presents at local, state, and national conferences on books, programs, and graphic novels, and recently became an adjunct for two graduate programs on young adult literature.

Monisha Blair is the Head Librarian at Key Middle School in Springfield, VA. She also reviews graphic novels, middle grade fiction, picture books, and young adult fiction for School Library Journal. She served on the SLJ Best Books Committee for Middle Grade Fiction from 2020-2023. You can find her on all social media platforms as @monishablair.

Amalia E. Butler is a public school librarian (P-7) with experience in public libraries. She most recently served on the 2023 (John) Newbery Award Selection Committee; is a current co-chair of the ALSC Children & Libraries Editorial Advisory Committee; and was a recipient of the 2020 Penguin Random House Young Readers Group Award for public library programming.

Dr. Amina Chaudhri is a Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, where she teaches courses in children’s literature, literacy, and social studies in the department of Teacher Education.

Shelley Diaz, Reviews Editor, School Library Journal

Jonah Dragan reviews for School Library Journal and serves on their year-end Best Books Committees. He holds a Master's degree in Education from Bank Street College and is also a member of the Bank Street Children's Book Committee. His many other hats include preschool teacher, author, professional storyteller, rare book collector, and parent. He can often be found exploring the dusty shelves of used bookstores, curling up with a mug of tea and a good ghost story, or diving into worlds of imagination with his husband and child.

Brandi Grant has 12 years experience as a school librarian and currently is a middle school librarian at Pearson Middle School in Frisco ISD. The mission statement that guides her professionally is to strive to educate, prepare, and inspire all students to achieve their highest potential with various resources, a contagious love of reading and a positive and fun environment. What she holds tight is to provide a safe, inclusive, and flexible learning environment where whoever enters through the doors feels that they are free to COLLABORATE, INNOVATE, and ESCAPE.

Karen Grenke is the Library Co-Director at The Town School (NYC) and the Resident Librarian at the Onteora Club. She is a second generation librarian, hailing from Canada by way of Taiwan. Her book-related projects have been published in SLJ and she’s twice been a panelist at Book Expo. Karen is a company member of Nerve Tank Media and a recipient of an Audio Verse Award for Best Storyteller. She is the current co-chair of the Education and Information Technology committee for the New York State Association of Independent Schools.

After 7 years of being a teacher, Heather Lassley felt a calling to another area in the school, the library. Heather has worked in Frisco ISD as a librarian for 13 years in the middle school area. Her passions are collection development, teaching research, and building a library for all students. 

Ashley Leffel is the librarian in Frisco, TX.  Before becoming a librarian, she taught music for many years. She loves reading all types of books and fangirling for her favorite authors. When not reading, she enjoys Broadway musicals and can quote just about every episode of Bob’s Burgers.

Dr. Sujei Lugo is a children's librarian at the Boston Public Library, Connolly Branch. She holds an MLIS from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and a Ph.D. LIS from Simmons University. She is an independent scholar and book reviewer and active member of REFORMA (National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking), ALSC (Association for Library Services to Children) and the We Are Kid Lit Collective. She is the co-writer of Islas Lectoras: bibliografía crítica de literatura infantil puertorriqueña (2000-2020).

Erin O’Leary is one-half of the duo known as The Crazy Reading Ladies. Sought-after presenters and teacher-trainers, the CRLs stop at nothing to motivate adolescents to read. Their passion is putting the right books in the right hands at the right time and empowering teachers to be champions of literacy. In 2017 they authored the YA version of Battle of the Books for Random House Publishing, Co.  Erin received her M.S.Ed. in Language and Literacy from Simmons University and currently works as a reading specialist at Horace Mann Middle School in Franklin, Massachusetts.

Alea Perez has been a Youth and Young Adult Services manager in the Chicago suburbs since June 2015. She aims to help children, teens, and their caregivers discover the many services libraries provide. Alea is dedicated to advocacy for youth and teen services, youth and teen services management, graphic novels for youth and teens, and equity and inclusion in the field at large.

Clair Quaintance has been working with tweens and teens in school libraries since 2010 and loving every minute of it.

As digital media coordinator, Justin Shannin oversees teen makerspace technology (including recording studios, sewing stations, and 3D printers) across Chicago Public Library's 81 branches. He has also served multiple terms on the library's "Best of the Best" committee, helping to select and publicize the library's annual top 50 list of new teen books. Before becoming a librarian, Justin worked in theatre and education. He has a B.A. in theatre from Northwestern University and an MLIS degree from UNC Greensboro.

Florence Simmons is an associate editor for SLJ. She hails from sunny Florida, where she has held several editorial positions—from reviews editor at Taylor & Francis Group to reviewing children’s books at Booklist. She is also the founder of children's and YA reviews blog “Book Nerds Across America,” which has been running strong since 2010.

Melissa Thom, MA, (she/her) is a teacher librarian at Bristow Middle School in West Hartford, CT. She has been an educator for 21 years and is the immediate past President of the Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL). She was a 2019 AASL Social Media Superstar Reader Leader finalist and a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2022. In her free time, she sews #LiteracyInspiredCrafts for her Joyful Making Etsy Shop. Find Melissa on X/Instagram @MsThomBookitis and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/melissathomjoyfullearning