Book Festival

Craig Kofi Farmer is the award-winning author of KWAME CRASHES THE UNDERWORLD and A METHOD OF MAGIC & MISFORTUNE, with Macmillan Publishing. Craig is a Prince George's County native, with two Bachelor of Science degrees from Towson University and one Master of Education degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. He works in higher education administration, helping students achieve work-life balance and self-actualization. When he's not writing, he's analyzing superhero movies, watching psychological thrillers, and deciding exactly what he's going to eat that day. In Spring 2025, Craig received the American Library Association's Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent for his debut middle grade novel, KWAME CRASHES THE UNDERWORLD.

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At eight years old, Hanh Bui and her family left war-torn Vietnam for safety and a new beginning. After nine days at sea, they were rescued by the United States Navy. Hanh will always be grateful for the kindness of her first American helpers. Growing up, she connected with universal themes of family, friendship, and love in the books she read. However, she didn’t see stories about families similar to her own represented between the pages of books. There weren’t any characters she could identify with or who looked like her. 

Inspired by her first American teacher at Fort Indiantown Gap, a refugee camp, Hanh grew up to also become a teacher. During her years as an educator, she was disappointed that there were few books with Asian American characters or stories written by Vietnamese American authors. She wanted all of the students in her class to see themselves represented in the books they read. When her own children’s love of books blossomed, Hanh decided to write stories based on her childhood refugee experiences and Vietnamese heritage. Hanh feels honored to add her voice to the countless diverse creators sharing their stories with young readers today. As noted by renowned school librarian, Dr. Rudine Bishop, Hanh hopes her books will be a “mirror” for more children to know their experiences matter and serve as a “window or sliding door” for all readers. 

The second book, Ánh’s New Word illustrated by Bao Luu, released in 2024, is inspired by Hanh’s own refugee experience. It was written as a tribute to her grandparents and the teacher who taught her English at the refugee camp. Hanh hopes her book embodies the gratitude she feels for the teacher who helped her embrace her voice in a new country. 

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Michael Rex has been writing and illustrating children’s books since 1995. He is the creator of over 50 books, including the #1 Bestseller, and Halloween favorite “Goodnight Goon,” and its follow up “We’re Going on a Goon Hunt.” His picture books include “Eat Pete” and the popular “Facts vs. Opinions vs. Robots.” His current graphic novel series “Your Pal Fred” is about the nicest boy in the apocalypse, and in 2017 his Fangbone graphic novels were turned into an animated TV show. He loves traveling the country to visit schools and talk about his work with students of all ages, has a Master’s degree in Arts Education, and also taught high school art for three years in the Bronx. He lives with his wife, two sons and a dog in Leonia, NJ 

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Anica Mrose Rissi is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for kids and teens, including picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA. Her most recent books are the spooky story collection HIDE AND DON'T SEEK: AND OTHER VERY SCARY STORIES and the middle grade novel WISHING SEASON, which is set on the Maine island where Anica grew up. She now lives in central New Jersey with her very good dog, Sweet Potato. Find out more at anicarissi.com.  

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Lauren studied illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art and received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She is the author and illustrator of the 2015 Caldecott Honor winning book, Nana in the City, and new chapter book series, Our Friend Hedgehog. Lauren has also illustrated several critically acclaimed picture books, including Kirkus Prize finalist Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera, Twenty Yawns by Jane Smiley, and Yard Sale by Eve Bunting. She currently draws and dreams in Harrisburg, PA. 

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Laura Parnum is the author of the middle grade novel Peril at Price Manor and the upcoming novel The Haunting of Bellington Cottage as well as the short story "Leave the Dead to Lie in Peace," which appears in the S'more Spooky Stories anthology. She writes stories that blend humor and heart with a touch of horror. When she’s not writing, she’s editing other people’s stories and helping out at local elementary school libraries. She currently serves as Co-Regional Advisor for the Eastern Pennsylvania region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Laura lives with her family in Philadelphia. They have a turtle that bites and a snake that doesn’t. 

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Miriam Chernick is a children's book author whose middle grade novel, THE ZUZU SECRET, was released May, 2025. When not writing, Miriam is a substitute teacher in Maryland. The balance of her time is spent parenting three young adults and helping to care for her brother who was born with a rare disease called Prader-Willi Syndrome. Previously, Miriam worked for a Fortune 500 company in product marketing both in New York and in Tokyo. In terms of academics she’s earned a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees—one from Yale University in Asian Studies and one from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Miriam loves animals and plants, Wheel of Fortune and Wordle, speaking Spanish, drinking French, and eating Japanese. 

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Brian Biggs is a writer, designer, and New York Times bestselling illustrator with more than 75 books to his credit. His most recent projects are Hard Hat Hank, written by Charlotte Gunnufson and published by Disney Hyperion, and Pigs Dig a Road, written by Carrie Finnison and published by Putnam. Brian lives and works in Philadelphia, where he’s currently writing a series of chapter-book stories about some clever insects. His work can be found at BrianBiggs.com.

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Nancy Johnson James is a Maryland based poet, author and public school teacher. She moved to Maryland from Northern California nearly three years ago. Nancy's intention is to write stories that affirm the lives of young children. 

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Annette Whipple celebrates curiosity and inspires others through her words. She is the author of fifteen children’s books including The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide (Chicago Review Press), Chomp! The Truth About Sharks (Reycraft Books), and Quirky Critter Devotions (Tyndale). Annette is a former teacher, nature lover, and chocolate chip cookie baker who lives in Pennsylvania. Learn more about Annette and her free resources at AnnetteWhipple.com. 

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Naomi Milliner is the author of Super Jake & the King of Chaos and The Trouble with Secrets, as well as coeditor and contributor of On All Other Night, a Junior Library Guild Selection. She created the Author Book Club for her SCBWI chapter, served on The Women’s National Book Association’s Great Group Reads Committee since 2009, and enjoys mentoring both children and adults. Naomi lives in Maryland with her family, too many books to count (but still never enough!), and one very fuzzy cat. 

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Alyssa Satin Capucilli is the author of over 100 books for young readers including Biscuit, the beloved yellow puppy. With over fifty million books in print, Biscuit has been deemed a modern classic and has been translated into numerous languages worldwide. Now celebrating its 29th year of publication, the New York Public Library noted that Biscuit is one of the library system’s most borrowed books.  

Once a professional dancer, Alyssa’s love of dance is embodied in her series, Katy Duck, illustrated by Henry Cole. Her picture books include The Library Fish and The Library Fish Learns to Read. Recently, Alyssa had the honor of co-writing, Willow The White House Cat, with First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden. 

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Laura was a teacher before becoming an author, and her humor-filled, rhyming picture book, THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE IN THE SCHOOL, is the first of a five-book, award-winning series, including JLG, the Virginia and Illinois Reader’s Choice Award, and are PW, B&N, Scholastic, & Amazon bestsellers. She’s also excited to share four new GBMan Early Reader Graphic Novels, with 2 more coming in 2026! Laura is an enthusiastic presenter with over twelve years of experience presenting at schools, libraries, conferences, as well as the Library of Congress with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. She lives with my family in Northern Virginia. www.LauraMurrayBooks.com. 

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Terry Catasús Jennings immigrated to the United States after her father was jailed in Cuba by Fidel Castro’s government. She was twelve at the time and knew no English. She loves to write about Cuban-American children, like Dominguita and Cami Campos, who live in communities that embrace and celebrate diversity. Her goal in life is to lead us to mutual understanding, as well as sing the praises of Cuban food.  

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June Smalls has been making up stories since she only had pets and stuffed animals to share them with. She is the author of fiction and nonfiction children's books that are funny, educational, odd, and entertaining including She Leads: The Elephant Matriarch, They Work: Honey Bees, Nature's Pollinators, and the upcoming Digging for Dinosaurs series. 

June loves going on adventures, for research of course, from falconry to digging up fossils; tracking wildlife to working with scientists and wildlife conservationists. Writing is always an adventure. 

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Beth Ferry is the author of numerous picture books for children including The Scarecrow, Swashby and the Sea, and the New York Times bestseller, Stick and Stone. She lives with her family by the beach in New Jersey where she finds inspiration in the salty air. In addition to writing picture books, Beth also writes graphic novels for emerging readers. You can learn more at bethferry.com.  

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Joan Waites Is an award-winning author-illustrator of numerous titles illustrated for the children’s trade and educational markets. She is the author-illustrator of five picture and board books, with three forthcoming titles releasing in 2025 and 2026. A former adjunct faculty member of the Corcoran Museum School of Art and Design’s aspiring artists programs, Joan continues to teach art enrichment for children and adults. She served for many years as the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI Illustrator Coordinator, and is a member of the Children’s Book Guild of Washington D.C., and volunteers with An Open Book Foundation that brings book creators and their books to Title 1 schools in the D.C. metro area. 

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