Stephanie Parwulski, a Buffalo, NY native, is the author of the children’s book, Beatrice and the Sunflower Gift. She received a B.A. in English from Daemen College in May 2016, further nurturing her love for literature and composition. She enjoys writing poems, children’s books, and short stories and contributes articles about her anxiety to a website called The Mighty to raise awareness about mental health. She also loves spending time with her family and friends and working as a preschool teacher aide. Her second book, Gloria’s Hope Tree, will be published by Belle Isle Books in summer 2019.

Jerry Craft is an author and illustrator who has worked on numerous picture books, graphic novels, and middle grade novels. His newest book, New Kid, is a middle grade graphic novel that has earned four starred reviews, including one from Booklist Magazine that called it "Possibly one of the most important graphic novels of the year." Kirkus Reviews called it "An engrossing, humorous, and vitally important graphic novel that should be required reading in every middle school in America." Jerry's books have been Junior Library Guild selections, and he has won five African American Literary Awards. He is the creator of Mama's Boyz, an award-winning comic strip that was distributed by King Features Syndicate from 1995 - 2013. He is a co-founder and co-producer of the Schomburg's Annual Black Comic Book Festival which has drawn close to 50,000 fans since its inception in 2013. Jerry was born in Harlem and grew up in nearby Washington Heights. He is a graduate of The Fieldston School and received his B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts. Website: www.jerrycraft.com

Adam Lehrhaupt is the award-winning picture book author of Warning: Do Not Open This Book! (S&S, 2013), Please: Open This Book! (S&S, 2015), Chicken in Space (A six book HarperCollins series continuing with Chicken in School June 20, 2017), and I Will Not Eat You (S&S, 2016), as well as the upcoming I Don’t Draw, I Color (S&S, 2017), Wordplay (Scholastic, July 25, 2017), This is a Good Story (S&S, September 12, 2017), Idea Jar (S&S, Spring 2018) and several more he is not yet at liberty to discuss. He has traveled to six continents, performed on Broadway, and lived on a communal farm. Adam firmly believes that opening a book is a good thing, even if there are monkeys in it. He currently lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, with his wife, two sons, and two bizarre dogs. Follow Adam on Twitter, Instagram and Google+ @Lehrhaupt for the occasional brilliant thought or picture, and at adamlehrhaupt.com.

Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of children’s books. Her chapter book series Jasmine Toguchi, about a spunky Japanese American 8-year-old girl, has been chosen as Junior Library Guild selections and placed on select “best of” lists. Debbi is also the author of the two early chapter book series Dorothy and Toto and My Furry Foster Family. She has spoken on panels and taught workshops at conferences and book festivals, and presented at numerous schools.

Website: http://debbimichikoflorence.com/

Shelley Rotner is the author and photo-illustrator of 50 award-winning children’s books. Her books are mostly about diversity and the environment. It is her hope that they will lead children and their parents and/or teachers to engage in conversations and inspire observations and curiosity about the world they live in. Some of her recent books include: Colors, Hello Autumn! Grow! Raise! Catch! How We Get Our Food, Whose Eye am I? ,Families, Body Actions, Body Bones and All Kinds of Friends. Some of her awards and acknowledgements include: University of Maine Correll Book Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Informational text- Families.- “packed with photographs of families of many different sizes, shapes, ages and colors.” Grow, Raise, Catch! Subaru nonfiction finalist and Green Earth Book Award. Garbage Helps our Gardens Grow- Green Earth Book Award- Hello, Spring! Starred Kirkus review: “Among the vibrant plants and baby animals are children whose appearances are diverse in skin, hair, and eye color but alike in their exuberance at being outdoors in the spring.”

Three-time Pura Belpré Award honoree Lulu Delacre has been writing and illustrating children's books since 1980. The New York Times Bestselling artist was born and raised in Puerto Rico to Argentinean parents. Delacre says her Latino heritage and her life experiences inform her work. Her 39 titles include Arroz con Leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America, a Horn Book Fanfare Book in print for almost 30 years. Her bilingual picture book ¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z! Descubriendo el bosque nublado; Olinguito, from A to Z! Unveiling the Cloud Forest  and her story collection  Us, in Progress: Short Stories About Young Latinos have received multiple starred reviews and awards. Her latest work is the art of Turning Pages by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Delacre has lectured internationally and served as a juror for the National Book Awards. She has exhibited at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art; The Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators in New York; the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico and the Zimmerli Art Museum; among other venues. Most recently Reading is Fundamental has honored her with a Champion of Children’s Literacy Award. For more visit her at www.luludelacre.com.

Nick Bruel is the author and illustrator of the New York Times Bestselling series "Bad Kitty" books, among others.  He lives in Pleasantville, NY with his wife Carina, their daughter Izzy, a grumpy old man shaped like a brown, one-eyed dachshund, and a sometimes-good, sometimes-bad cat named Rose.

Zachariah OHora is the illustrator of the New York Times best selling book Wolfie the Bunny. He is the author and illustrator of a number of award-winning books including the Huffington Post Best Childrens Book of 2013 No Fits Nilson!. And My Cousin Momo! a Boston Globe Best Children’s Book of 2015. His debut children’s book Stop Snoring Bernard! won the 2011 Society of illustrators Founder’s Award and was the PA One Book for 2012. He lives in Narberth, PA with his wife and two sons. Visit him online at zohora.com or on Twitter @ZachariahOHora.

Carmela LaVigna Coyle is an award-winning author of over a dozen picture books and board books. Her first published book, Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? illustrated by Mike Gordon (Rising Moon), is a favorite among the not-your-average-princess crowd. Her latest picture books include, Wild Zoo Train, illustrated by Steve Gray, (Muddy Boots Books) and Do Princesses Live in Sandcastles? Her many princess books have been modified into Keepsake Doodle editions and Board books, as well as Spanish, Korean, and Chinese editions. Her book, The Tumbleweed Came Back, illustrated by Kevin Rechin, (Rio Chico) won 2014 Colorado Book Award.

Carmela has a degree in Education and Art. Her interests (besides writing) include inventing recipes, dabbling in watercolors, growing pumpkins, anything puppy dog and little kid related, heart-rock hounding, feeding the birds, and long solitary walks in nature.

She is in awe of the remarkable artists and writers in her field, and keeps an ever-expanding collection of their extraordinary books. This year marks her 3rd year as a SCBWI mentor. Carmela lives in Colorado with her family and a lively shi-poo dog named, Lulu.

Elizabeth grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from Massachusetts College of Art, she moved to Rochester, New York to earn her MFA degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She settled happily in Upstate New York and worked as an art instructor, graphic designer and artist, first in Rochester and then in Buffalo. There she experienced the awesome power of a blizzard, and immediately knew she wanted to create a storm story for the children of Buffalo. Buffalo Snow proved to be very popular and copies are now in hands around the world. Elizabeth is also the illustrator of Max Meets the Mayor, by Mark Goldman, and has several other books in the works. She can be reached at Studio 507 at the Tri-Main Center, 2495 Main Street, Buffalo, NY and online through www.elizabethleader.com.

Joy Keller is the author of fun and fantastic picture books, including MONSTER TRUCKS and the upcoming MISS TURIE'S MAGIC CREATURES. When she's not writing, she's teaching fourth graders how to write. She lives in Fairport, NY, with her husband, two children, and several cats.

Dee Romito is a middle-grade author and former elementary school teacher, Dee lives in her hometown of Buffalo, New York, where she and her family are steadily checking items off their own bucket list of adventures. You're likely to find her at the local ice cream shop, writing at a cafe, or curled up on the couch with her cats. And while she does her best to be a grown-up most of the time, giggling with her BFFs is still one of Dee's all-time favorite things. To join the fun and create your own bucket list, visit TheBFFBucketList.com.