Nikki Barthelmess is an author of young adult books, including Everything Within and In Between, The Quiet You Carry, and Quiet No More. While growing up in foster care, Nikki found solace in books and writing. A former journalist, Nikki lives in sunny Santa Barbara with her husband, two young children, and a diva of a corgi. When not reading or working on her books, Nikki loves advocating for the rights of current and former foster youth, jogging on the beach, and trying to convince her abuelita that feminism means it’s okay that her husband does all the cooking.

Books include:

• Everything Within and in Between
• The Quiet You Carry
• Quiet No More

Joshua Hauke was lucky enough to discover that he was a weirdo at a very young age. After breaking his drawing arm three times in a row, Joshua learned that he could teach almost any part of his body to help pick up a pencil, including his opposite arm and left earlobe. Eventually, he even trained his beard to help out. Joshua has been writing and illustrating comics for over a decade and is the creator of the all-ages webcomic Tales of the Brothers Three. His new middle-grade graphic novel series Doom’s Day Camp is now available.

Books include:

• Doom's Day Camp Series
• Tales of the Brothers Three Series
• Beasts to Feed Your Brother to

Melinda Palacio is a poet, author, and speaker. She lives in Santa Barbara and New Orleans. Her poetry chapbook, Folsom Lockdown, won Kulupi Press’ Sense of Place 2009 award. She is the author of the novel, Ocotillo Dreams (ASU Bilingual Press 2011), for which she received the Mariposa Award for Best First Book at the 2012 International Latino Book Awards and a 2012 PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature. Her first full-length poetry collection, How Fire Is a Story, Waiting, (Tia Chucha Press 2012) was a finalist for the Milt Kessler Award, the Patterson Prize, and received First Prize in Poetry at the 2013 ILBA. Her latest poetry book is Bird Forgiveness, from 3: A Taos Press. She is the City of Santa Barbara’s 10th Laureate.

Books include:

• Folsom Lockdown
• Ocotillo Dreams
• How Fire Is a Story, Waiting
• Bird Forgiveness

Sherry Shahan has 40 published children's books and is best known for her middle-grade adventure novels featuring female protagonists. Her short form writing has appeared in Highlights, Cricket, Cobblestone, Boys Life, Owl, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and taught a creative writing course for UCLA for 10 years. She lives in Morro Bay, California.

Books include:

• Skin and Bones
• Frozen Stiff
• Death Mountain
• Ice Island
• Spicy Hot Colors
• ¡Fiesta!: A Celebration of Latino Festivals

As CEO of the Food Bank in Santa Barbara County CA I have worked on anti-hunger and nutrition issues, especially pertaining to children, for over 20 years. I am the author of a series of the picture books for 7-10 year olds, (the 'Food Justice for Kids' book series) published by Free Spirit Publications. "Lulu and the Hunger Monster" (looking at hunger in the classroom) was published 2 years ago, and now has a bilingual edition. The sequels, 'Jesse and the Snack Food Genie' (healthy eating for kids) and 'Frankie versus the Food Phantom' (kids guide to the food system) are published in October 2023. Here is a link to the 45 second book trailer (including a plug by Jeff Bridges) Here is a video that features on the hunger-monster.com website about how kids can beat the hunger monster would love to be involved with the author breakfast.

Books include:

• Lulu and the Hunger Monster
• Jesse and the Snack Food Genie
• Frankie versus the Food Phanton
• Hunger into Health

Silvia Rodriguez Vega, an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in the Department of Chicana/o Studies, is a dynamic scholar and community-engaged artist. Holding a Ph.D. in Chicana and Chicano Studies from UCLA and a Master's from Harvard Graduate School of Education, she's earned prestigious fellowships during her academic journey, including the UC Chancellor's and NYU Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowships. Silvia's groundbreaking research focuses on the profound impact of anti-immigration policies on the lives of immigrant children, employing innovative methodologies rooted in art and creative expression.

Her book, Drawing Deportation, is based on ten years of work with immigrant children as young as six years old in Arizona and California. Featuring an analysis of three hundred drawings, theater performances, and family interviews, Silvia Rodriguez Vega provides accounts of children’s challenges with deportation and family separation. While much of the literature on immigrant children depicts them as passive, when viewed through this lens they appear as agents of their own stories.

Books include:

• Drawing Deportation

Mark London Williams is an author, playwright, journalist, and creator of the Los Angeles Times Bestselling young adult time travel series Danger Boy, and author of Max Random and the Zombie 500. He also works as a regular columnist writing about movies, TV, awards, strikes, AI, etc. for Below the Line, British Cinematographer, and other outlets.

Books include:

• Danger Boy Series
• Two Trickster Tango
• Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out

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