Authors & Illustrators

As teachers and school librarians work to add more diverse voices to their libraries’ collections, we continue learning more about the impact of these efforts on literacy. According to First Book Research & Insights, “a majority of students chose to read diverse books that serve as mirrors, where they can see themselves.”

The debut author explores her experience growing up with ADHD, and how it informed her novel Hannah Edwards: Secrets of Riverway.

In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. In the latest installment, Rebecca Stafford shares about Rabbit & Juliet.

The Newbery Medal winner and National Ambassador of Young People's Literature will speak with SLJ reviews director Shelley Diaz about her time as Ambassador, Latinx representation in children's books, her latest projects, and more.

The 10 titles on the longlist include fiction, nonfiction, and novels-in-verse, as well as one author previously honored in the category: Randy Ribay, who was a finalist in 2019. 

The censorship-related legal battles continue as Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Club, Harper Collins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Sourcebooks, The Authors Guild, Julia Alvarez, John Green, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jodi Picoult, and Angie Thomas sue Florida; and the Department of Justice files a brief in support of the lawsuit against the Cobb County (GA) School District.