Donna Barba Higuera, Author of the last cuentista and Alebrijes

Donna Barba Higuera has always been a daydreamer, blending folklore and all things strange and magical into stories. Donna lives in Washington State with her family, two dogs, eleven chickens, two guppies and a frog. Her books have been on the New York Times bestsellers list, won awards including the Newbery Medal, Pura Belpré Award, and Sid Fleischman Award for Humor.

www.dbhiguera.com
Facebook: Donna Barba Higuera
Instagram: @donnabarbahiguera

JOHN JENNINGS, ILLUSTRATOR of PARABLE OF THE TALENTS: GRAPHIC NOVEL ADAPTATION by octavia butler & DIRECTOR OF ABRAMS COMICARTS IMPRINT MEGASCOPE

John Jennings is a professor, author, graphic novelist, curator, Harvard Fellow, New York Times Bestseller, 2018 Eisner Winner, and winner of the Hugo Award for his co-adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s dystopian novel The Parable of the Sower. As Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside (UCR), Jennings examines the visual culture of race in various media forms including film, illustrated fiction, and comics and graphic novels. He is also the director of Abrams ComicArts imprint Megascope, which publishes graphic novels focused on the experiences of people of color. Jennings is co-editor of the 2016 Eisner Award-winning collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art (Rutgers) and co-founder/organizer of The Schomburg Center’s Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem. Jennings also created Marvel’s new AfroCaribbean cosmic superhero Ghost Light with artist Valentine Delandro.

www.johnjenningsstudio.com
Instagram: johnjenningsart
X: JIJennings

traci n. todd, author of make a pretty sound: a story of ella jenkins & NINA: A STORY OF NINA SIMONE

Traci N. Todd is the award-winning author of Nina: A Story of Nina Simone, Holding Her Own, The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes, and the editor of many successful books for children, including the New York Times-bestselling The ABCs of Black History. She is especially interested in amplifying the experiences of Black and brown folks and in inspiring inquisitiveness, compassion, and hope in all children. She believes the truth is powerful. And she loves a beautiful picture book.