R.L. Stine is one of the best-selling children’s authors in history, selling more than 400 million books around the globe. Now in its 30th year, the Goosebumps series made R.L. Stine a worldwide publishing celebrity (and Jeopardy answer). His other popular children’s book series include Fear Street, (recently revived as a feature film trilogy), The Garbage Pail Kids, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room, and Rotten School. Other titles include: It’s The First Day of School Forever, A Midsummer Night’s Scream, Young Scrooge, Stinetinglers, and two picture books, with Marc Brown—The Little Shop of Monsters and Mary McScary. An adult horror comic series, Stuff of Nightmares, will be published in September 2022.
The Goosebumps TV series was the number-one children’s show in America for three years. The episodes can still be seen on Netflix. More recently, R.L.’s anthology TV series, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, won the Emmy Award three years in a row as Best Children’s Show. His newest Disney+ TV series is Just Beyond, based on his graphic novels for BOOM! Studios. Zombie Town, a feature film starring Chevy Chase and Dan Akroid and based on a book of the same name, will debut in December 2022. Two Goosebumps feature films starring Jack Black as R.L. Stine were released in 2015 and 2018. The first film became the #1 film in America. The Fear Street movies all reached #1 on Netflix.
RL. Stine lives in New York City with his wife Jane, an editor and publisher.
Tiffany D. Jackson is the NYT Bestselling, award-winning author of YA novels Monday’s Not Coming, Allegedly, Let Me Hear A Rhyme, Grown, White Smoke, Santa in The City, The Weight of Blood, Marvel’s STORM: Dawn of a Goddess and co-author of Blackout and Whiteout. A Coretta Scott King — John Steptoe New Talent Award-winner and the NAACP Image Award-nominee, she received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University and has over a decade in TV/Film experience. The Brooklyn native is currently splitting her time between the borough she loves and the south, most likely multitasking.
Case Kenny is an author, mindfulness expert, and the host of the popular podcast, New Mindset, Who Dis?
Case has been featured on The Today Show, Forbes, Good Morning America and others, and through his platforms and talent for helping millions feel seen and heard through short affirmations and mantras, Case has dedicated his life to making mindfulness approachable and simplified.
His latest book, The Opposite of Settling, helps you get everything you want out of love and life without losing your spark.
His debut book, That’s Bold of You, helps you reclaim your realest, weirdest, and most vibrant self through a practical approach to mindsets and self-reinvention.
Jumata Emill is a journalist who has covered crime and local politics in Mississippi and parts of Louisiana. He earned his BA in mass communications from Southern University and A&M University. He’s a Pitch Wars alum and a member of the Crime Writers of Color. When he’s not writing about murderous teens, he’s watching and obsessively tweeting about every franchise of the Real Housewives. Jumata lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Amélie Wen Zhao is a New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels, including the Blood Heir trilogy and the Song of the Last Kingdom duology. Born in Paris and raised in Beijing, Zhao’s multicultural background and love of travel inspire her writing, which features characters from diverse kingdoms.
Her debut novel, Blood Heir, was published in 2019 and follows a princess with a dark secret who must trust a conman to clear her name.
LaDarrion Williams is a Los Angeles based-playwright, filmmaker, author, and screenwriter whose goal is to cultivate a new era of Black fantasy, providing space and agency for Black characters and stories in a new, fresh and fantastical way. He is currently a resident playwright/co-creator of The Black Creators Collective, where his play UMOJA made its West Coast premiere in January 2022 and produced North Hollywood’s first Black playwrights festival at the Waco Theater Center. Blood at the Root is his first novel. His viral and award-winning short film based on the same concept, is currently on YouTube and Amazon Prime.
L. B. Anne is the award-wining author of the Amazon best-selling Sheena Meyer series. She is also the author of over 40 diverse books for middle grade and young adult readers. She is a mental health advocate and the founder of I Am Aria, Inc. non-profit. L. B. Anne resides on the Gulf Coast of Florida with her husband. When she is not inventing new obstacles for her characters to overcome, you can find her mastering Vietnamese, grooving on the bass guitar, running along the beach, or sipping a mocha iced coffee at her favorite local café while dreaming of being your favorite author.
Cristin Bishara writes fantasy and science fiction for kids. Her newly released middle-grade novel, Mothman, is a Choose Your Own Adventure® thriller with 19 endings, and is the first in the Cryptid Chronicles series. Her young-adult debut, Relativity (Bloomsbury, 2013), explores alternate realities, while Vial of Tears (Holiday House, 2021) was inspired by Phoenician mythology and earned critical acclaim. Bishara holds an MFA in creative writing and lives in Tampa, Florida, with her family.
Julia Bodwell is the author of contemporary young adult novels with strong emotion and depth. A former middle school teacher, she now owns and operates The Gilded Page bookstore in Tarpon Springs, Florida, where she lives with her husband and their rescue cats.
Moriah Chavis is the author of the young adult fantasy Heart of the Sea and various short stories. She is a two-time graduate from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts and a Master’s in Library and Information Science. It’s been said you can find perusing bookstores, attempting to persuade strangers to read her favorite books, oscillating between watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy (her husband’s favorite) or Harry Potter (hers), and keeping her books from the clutches of her two feisty cats.
Lucienne Diver is the author of the Vamped young adult series—think Clueless meets Buffy—and the Latter-Day Olympians urban fantasy series, which Long and Short Reviews calls “a clever mix of Janet Evanovich and Rick Riordan”. Her favorite pull quote ever!
Bella Rosa Books released her first two young adult suspense novels, FAULTLINES and THE COUNTDOWN CLUB, and WordFire Press released her latest YA suspense, DISAPPEARED, wherein two teens struggle with the story their father tells about the night their mother disappeared and decide that they have to investigate to discover the truth for themselves…whatever it may be.
She’s been a literary agent for over thirty years, her first fifteen with Spectrum Literary Agency in New York before moving to her forever-home at The Knight Agency. She specializes in commercial fiction, young adult through adult, and has built a diverse and dynamic list of award-winning and bestselling authors such as N.K. Jemisin, Vaishnavi Patel, Alyssa Cole, Kelley Armstrong, Genevieve Cogman, Emma Lord, Chloe Neill and more!
On a personal note, Lucienne now lives in Florida with her husband, the two cutest dogs in the world, and enough books to some day collapse the second floor of her home into the first. She likes living dangerously.
Kristen Grafton has loved reading and writing stories since she was a little girl. That love morphed into a desire to teach others to love writing and to write stories she would have wanted to read when she was younger. She is a high school English teacher and is the assistant director of her school’s theater program, and she has found great inspiration in writing stories that might appeal to her own students.
Kristen has an MFA in Popular Fiction and Publishing from Emerson College as well as an MA in English Rhetoric from the University of South Florida. She was a triple major in college at USF. She also co-owns Cottage House Publishing. She is the author of Thank You for Applying, Line of Succession, and The Waves at My Window.
Maria Ingrande Mora (they/she) is a content designer and Florida native. Their queer YA debut, Fragile Remedy, was selected as Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Their contemporary debut, The Immeasurable Depth of You, received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal and Booklist. Their middle grade Power Rangers comic book series, Ranger Academy, releases this fall with BOOM! Studios. A graduate of the University of Florida, Maria lives near a wetlands preserve with three cats, two teenagers, and a billion mosquitoes.
Candace Kade is a novelist and screenwriter drawn to stories involving tech, psychology, culture, and the occasional sword fight. She’s the author of The Hybrid Series, a YA sci-fi trilogy. A graduate of the LA Film Studies Program and an Aurora Creative Talent screenwriter, Candace has written everything from short dramas to feature films. A third culture kid, she calls both Chengdu and OKC home. She’s also a certified Krav Maga instructor and an unapologetic fan of writing fight scenes. When she’s not building new worlds on the page or screen, you’ll find her hiking national parks, exploring new countries, or teaching her two sons Mandarin. She can be easily bribed with boba tea, fluffy puppies, and breakfast tacos.
Jessica Kaye, author of YA science fiction and fantasy closed-door romance, was born and raised in an American military community in Germany. She moved to Florida at the age of 17 to earn a BFA in illustration from the Ringling School of Art and Design.
As an artist, she dabbles in many mediums, including sculpture, painting, embroidery, pies, and drawing dinosaurs. A good time out with friends includes boba tea, sushi, escape rooms, and frozen yogurt.
She lives in central Florida with her supportive husband and family. Jessica Kaye is the mother of five books and two fantastic children.
Finalist in the 2024 Wishing Shelf Book Awards – Beyond the Wall
Finalist in the 19th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards – Beyond the Wall
Kerry Kriseman is a St. Petersburg, Florida, native. She is the author of Accidental First Lady: On the Front Lines (and Behind the Scenes) of Local Politics, her memoir that provides a rare, unfiltered look into life of a 22-year political spouse. Kriseman’s non-political
Erika Lewis grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, she moved across the country to Los Angeles, California to work in television. A creator of magical worlds and addictive characters, she finds many of her inspirations while traveling to new places. When she’s not at her laptop, she can generally be found scribbling down notes while wandering through abandoned buildings, all kinds of museums, and graveyards.
Erika Lewis’s credits include the Kelcie Murphy Series from Starscape/Tor Teen, The Color of Dragons from HarperTeen, Game of Shadows from Tor Books, Firebrand and Acursian from Legendary Comics, #Guardian from Awesome Media & Entertainment, and The 49th Key from Heavy Metal Publishing.
Leslie Lutz is the author of Fractured Tide, a young adult thriller about an ill-fated scuba trip that strands the protagonist on a time-bending island. Her debut was voted “Best of 2020” by Suspense Magazine and became a Junior Library Guild Pick. Leslie’s poetry and short fiction have appeared in various journals, including Typishly, The Lyric, Raintown Review, and Orca Literary Journal. She has been a speaker at DFWCon, TomeCon, and Roanoke Writers Convention, and Thrillerfest. Her next young adult novel, Sweetest Darkness—the story of a teenage psychic who unleashes unspeakable horror on a small Texas town—will hit the shelves in the fall of 2024. She lives in Fort Worth, and when she’s not writing, you can find her watching B-horror movies, scuba diving, or taking care of chickens.
Annette Masters is the award-winning YA author of The Hennessy Lie and Dragonfly Down. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Exceptional Student Education, a minor in children’s literature, and certifications in copyediting and veterinary technology. Annette has taught elementary school, worked as an intensive-care vet tech at both the University of Florida and University of Georgia Colleges of Veterinary Medicine, cofounded and managed Main Street Animal Hospital, and served as both president and critique-group moderator of Tampa Writers Alliance. She lives and writes on a small farm in Florida.
A self-proclaimed geek, Melody Maysonet remembers what it’s like to be unhappy as a teen, which is why she writes about real life and real issues for young adults. Even as a young girl, she wanted to be a writer, but her dream of becoming an author was a long road. She spent years teaching English at a community college in Illinois before moving to Seattle to become an editor for Wizards of the Coast, the gaming company that makes the popular trading card game, Magic: The Gathering. It wasn’t until she fell in love and settled in South Florida that she became serious about trying to achieve her goal of becoming an author—a dream that often seemed out of reach.
Then in 2015, after years of studying the craft, Melody finally became a published author with her critically acclaimed YA novel, A WORK OF ART (Simon Pulse). Her second novel, WHAT WE WISH FOR, received a starred review from School Library Journal, was named by Katie Couric Media as one of their Best New Books for fall 2024, and won the gold medal in the 2024 Florida Book Awards. You can learn more about what makes Melody tick on her website, www.melodymaysonet.com.
Vanessa Montalban, Miami-born, channels her wanderlust for far-off worlds into writing young adult fiction, including A Tall Dark Trouble, winner of the Florida Book Awards in the YA category.
She’s a first-generation college graduate, and is hard at work creating a collection of stories. Her work has appeared in Diabolical Plots and Entropy Magazine, and her newest novel These Vengeful Wishes is coming spring 2025.
Chris Mullen is an award-winning author and award-winning educator with a 23-year teaching career, best known for his acclaimed ROWDY series and the CASS CALLAHAN contemporary western thrillers. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Chris has earned multiple honors, including several Will Rogers Medallions and American Fiction Awards, and now focuses full-time on writing.
Gloria Muñoz is a Colombian American writer, translator, and advocate for multilingual literacy. She is the author of This is the Year, Your Biome Has Found You, and Danzirly, which won the Ambroggio Prize and the Gold Medal Florida Book Award. Her other honors include an Academy of American Poets Poet Laureate Fellowship, Hedgebrook Fellowship, being a Macondista, Highlights Foundation’s Diverse Verse Fellowship, Lumina’s Multilingual Writing Award, and a part of Las Musas. She’s a proud alum of the Tin House YA writers workshop. Through Moonlit Música, the company she cofounded, Muñoz writes and composes music for bilingual children’s programming in audio, film, and curriculum.
Ginny Myers Sain is the author of DARK AND SHALLOW LIES (2021), SECRETS SO DEEP (2022), ONE LAST BREATH (2024), and WHEN THE BONES SING (2025) all from Penguin Teen. Her debut novel, DARK AND SHALLOW LIES, is a New York Times bestseller, an Indie Bookstore Bestseller, a Barnes & Noble YA Pick of the Month, an Amazon Editor’s Pick, and a 2022 CRYSTAL KITE award winner from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Ginny’s books are available world-wide in ten countries and counting!
Although she comes from a long line of writers, Ginny’s first love has always been the theatre. She has a degree in theatre and has spent most of her career teaching acting and directing plays and musicals. Ginny currently lives in St. Cloud, Florida, with her college-age son and a wild goldendoodle named Magnolia. When she is not working in the theatre or writing, you’re likely to find her listening to true crime podcasts, taking pictures of alligators, eating tacos, traveling to spooky places, or hanging out at Walt Disney World.
Abigail O’Bryan is the author of Iron Rose —a dark YA reimagining of Beauty & the Beast meets Hunger Games— which has been selected as a Utah Book Awards Notable Read, a Montaigne Medal Finalist for thought-provoking books, and recognized by both national and international book awards for YA Action. Abigail writes stories for young adults (and the young at heart) which are always filled with curses, adventures, and happily-ever-afters—preferably with a fairy tale twist.
When not writing, she can be found playing D&D with her friends, making too much food, or elbows-deep in her garden alongside her husband and two children in the shadow of the Wasatch Range.
Amy Nielsen spent nearly twenty years sharing her love of books with young readers on the other side of the writing aisle as a youth librarian. Daily immersion in story took root, and she started penning her 2024 YA debut, Worth It, behind her checkout desk.
She left the library after her youngest son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and began writing full-time. She also began working with other authors helping them elevate their craft and pursue publication deals. She is currently an associate literary agent at the Purcell Agency and developmental editor at Wild Ink Publishing.
Amy also runs Mayflower Media, which produces book trailers for authors and is co-host of the Author(ish) podcast, bringing publishing advice to emerging authors.
In addition to her debut, Amy is the author of the picture book, Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder, and It Takes a Village: How to Build a Support System For Your Exceptional Needs Family. She is also the lead anthologist on the upcoming anthology, Uncensored Ink: A Banned Book-Inspired Anthology.
From the epic fantasy world of Ilbrea to the vampire-plagued dystopia of the domes, Megan O’Russell offers readers thirty-one books across eight series. Megan’s newest novel, Sketchbook of a Wayward Seer, is presented in partnership with the Page by Page podcast where you can listen to a new full chapter of the book every week. Available titles include Ember and Stone, Girl of Glass, The Cursebound Thief, and How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin’ Days.
Steph Post is the author of the novels Miraculum, Lightwood, Walk in the Fire, Holding Smoke and A Tree Born Crooked. She graduated from Davidson College as a recipient of the Patricia Cornwell Scholarship and holds a Master’s degree in Graduate Liberal Studies from UNCW. Her work has most recently appeared in Garden & Gun, Saw Palm, and Stephen King’s Contemporary Classics. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, a Rhysling Award and was a semi-finalist for The Big Moose Prize. She lives in Florida.
Derek Roberts is the award-winning illustrator of the Brudders® book series and a California-born, nature lover who loves painting imaginative worlds for kids. He has a unique ability to connect with children through visual storytelling, helping them to comprehend words and build their confidence in reading. Derek’s career started in graphic design before moving into storyboarding, animation, and ultimately illustration. He hopes his illustrations will inspire children’s minds to go into creative, happy places like picture books and comic books do for him.
Derek lives in Land O Lakes, Florida where he enjoys hiking and biking through nature and saying hi to the alligators that, thankfully, pass him by. You can learn more about the series at www.BruddersBooks.com, or contact him at hellobrudders@
Shawn Samuelson Henry grew up in Hanover, New Hampshire, where trips to the library were as exciting as those to the Dartmouth Skiway. Reading has been a constant throughout her life; she is dedicated to sharing that love with teenagers and adults alike. After earning degrees from Bucknell University, Harvard University and the University of Wyoming, Shawn taught English to teenagers for more than a decade. She wrote a novel, Shooting for Gold: Mystery at the Winter Olympics – a thriller about a blood-doping scandal among biathletes – for the sole purpose of entertaining her students. Made in Maine (Woodhall Press 2023), her first published novel, is wildly popular with both young and old adults. It has been featured in numerous book clubs and high school and college classes. Shawn is also a playwright whose plays have won competitions and been produced across the U.S. and Canada. Shawn lives in Davidson, North Carolina with her husband and three children. When she is not writing, she is probably running on a trail, reading or doing laundry.
Jo Schulte grew up chasing fireflies in Michigan, spent many years navigating London’s publishing industry, and now calls Atlanta home, y’all. When she’s not writing, Jo can be found walking her dog, getting distracted by renovation projects, or enjoying a well-earned brunch (the housecleaning can wait).
Taylor Simonds is a Central Florida-based author of young adult sci-fi/fantasy fiction and a former Walt Disney World Entertainment escapee.
Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Central Florida and a Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law, where she was a twelve-time award winner in competitive advocacy.
When not writing, Taylor can be found thrifting, baking, and seeking out excuses to wear a themed outfit.
Andie L. Smith is the young adult author of The Bonded Series. She is also an associate agent and the founder of Sun & Spines Editorial LLC. When she’s not writing, Andie loves to spend time with her husband and two kitties or hang out at Disney World.
Vania Stoyanova is a bookseller and event coordinator at indie children’s bookstore, Brave + Kind. She’s one of the founders of LOVE Y’ALL ROMANCE BOOK FEST here in Decatur, and is the author of the WHY ON EARTH young adult anthology.
Kayla Tirrell has loved to read as long as she can remember. While she started out reading spooky stories that had her hiding under her covers, she now prefers stories with a bit more kissing.
When she gets a chance to watch TV, she enjoys cheesy sci-fi and superhero shows. Most days, you’ll catch her burning dinner in an attempt to cook while reading just one more chapter. Kayla lives in the sunshine state with her husband and three boys.
RJ Valldeperas is a Peruvian/Venezuelan writer from Florida, where she lives with her husband, five children, three goats and nine chickens. When she’s not playing chauffeur or chef, she spends her time creating stories steeped in culture with characters who look just like her, or she’s shirking all responsibility to escape into the pages of someone else’s world.
Taylor Ann Wright may have been born in the Bay Area of CA, but she currently calls an RV home as she travels full-time with her husband, cat Tomato, and two dogs, Honey and Maple. She is the author of the Venture Trilogy, a YA Fantasy series that is soon to be completed. When she’s not crafting stories or chugging iced coffees, you can find her making YouTube videos all about her writing process.