Authors & Illustrators

Author Susan H. Kamei discusses her YA narrative nonfiction work When Can We Go Back to America?: Voices of Japanese American Incarceration during WWII, and why it's so vital to acknowledge and understand this episode in U.S. history.

Friends and colleagues remember Caldecott-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney, who died this week at age 81.

The three-time Newbery Honoree was still hard at work, publishing two books this year with one more scheduled for release in January 2022.

We are pleased to share an exclusive first look and cover reveal for UNEQUAL: A STORY OF AMERICA by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau. But before we show the cover, here is chat we had with Michael Eric and Marc about the creation of their new book, out in the world in May 2022.

Debut novelist Elisabet Velasquez talks with SLJ about weaving joy into the heaviness of life, helping young people feel heard, and how stories can give readers a mirror to see their reflections.

Books are being challenged across the country; districts in Pennsylvania and Texas dominate the news with their decisions to remove materials. 

September debuts are here, with new YA authors taking on race relations among teenagers, the culture of K-pop, and the power of magic.

Black nonfiction offers age-appropriate narratives to educate children and presents the truth needed for “recovery, reconciliation, and repair.”

The authors and founders of Just Us Books reflect on the recent passing of trailblazing Black figures in the kid lit world.