2018 Kids' Literary Festival

Amy Ignatow is a cartoonist and a graduate of Moore College of Art and Design, and she is very good at peeling oranges. She was in four musicals in high school and employed stealth and her wits to avoid being in any dance numbers. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Mark, their children, and their cat, Mathilda, who is mostly very terrible. She is the author of the very popular series The Popularity Papers, and of two books in a new series The Odds.

Greg Pizzoli is an author and illustrator of several picture books, including The Watermelon Seed, which received the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award and Good Night Owl, which received a Geisel Honor. His first nonfiction picture book, Tricky Vic, was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year, an Amazon Best Book of the Year, and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. Greg lives in Philadelphia with his wife, their dog, and two cats. Visit Greg Pizzoli online at www.gregpizzoli.com, and on twitter and instagram @gregpizzoli

Becky Birtha grew up in Germantown and West Mt. Airy, and first became well known as a poet in the LGBTQ+ community. She now writes for children and is the author of two award winning historical fiction picture books about African American families: Grandmama’s Pride, and Lucky Beans. Birtha’s newest picture book, Far Apart, Close in Heart: Being a Family When a Loved One Is Incarcerated, reveals the impact on children of parental incarceration, and received starred reviews in Kirkus and School Library Journal. In all of her writing, Becky Birtha strives to express her concern and advocacy for social justice. She is a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), as well as the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. She and her partner live in Lansdowne, Delaware County, and are the parents of two young adults.

Eric Bell lives and writes in Pennsylvania. He was once in middle school. He survived. You will too. Alan Cole s Not a Coward, his first novel, is a hilarious and poignant tale about the trials of middle school when you’re coming of age—and coming out. A sequel, Alan Cole Doesn’t Dance, is due out October 9, 2018.

Andrea Tsurumi is an author, illustrator and cartoonist. Her first picture book, Accident! (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), was a Junior Library Guild selection and an NPR Best of 2017 pick. Her second picture book, Crab Cake, comes out February 2019. Her comics include Why Would You Do That? (Hic & Hoc), How to Pool, and Andrew Jackson Throws a Punch. A lifelong book nerd, she received an English BA from Harvard and an MFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts. She now lives in Philadelphia and likes her ice cream angry.

Authors Marie and Baldev Lamba are a husband and wife team, and Green Green: A Community Gardening Story is their debut picture book! They live in Pennsylvania, where they try to make all sorts of things grow in their yard. Marie works as a literary agent at The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency in New York City. Baldev is a Landscape Architect and owner of the award-winning landscape architecture firm Lamba Associates, Inc. He is also chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture at Temple University. For more information, visit marielamba.com.

Doug Wechsler is a nature photographer, author, and naturalist. He takes his inspiration from forests, swamps, and seashores as well as his own backyard. By showing the wonders of nature and their humorous side, Doug hopes to motivate his readers to deepen their interest in their natural surroundings. His twenty-two books for children include Marvels in the Muck: Life in the Salt Marshes, Frog Heaven: Ecology of a Vernal Pool, and titles on birds, bugs, and snakes. Doug’s photographs have appeared in hundreds of publications, including Audubon Magazine, National Wildlife, and Smithsonian Magazine. He works at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia. To read more about Doug and see his photographs, visit www.dougwechsler.com.

Barbara DiLorenzo is the author/illustrator of Renato and the Lion and Quincy: The Chameleon Who Couldn't Blend In. She received her BFA in illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and studied painting at the Art Students League of New York under Mary Beth McKenzie. In 2014 she received the Dorothy Markinko Scholarship Award from the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature. She is a signature member in the New England Watercolor Society as well as the Society of Illustrators. Currently she teaches at the Arts Council of Princeton, and is co-president of the Children’s Book Illustrators Group of New York. Barbara is represented by Rachel Orr of the Prospect Agency.

Rob Bierregaard is a writer, ornithologist and osprey expert. From 1995 to 2011, he taught Ornithology and Ecology in the Biology Department of UNC-Charlotte and is currently a research associate of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, focusing his research on the ecology and migration of Ospreys in eastern North America. In 2014 he instructed at National Audubon’s Hog Island Nature Camp’s inaugural “Raptor Rapture’ session. Belle’s Journey, Rob’s middle-grade non-fiction chapter book, is coming from Charlesbridge in 2018.

Kate Garchinsky illustrates and writes children’s books and educational media in her studio in the woodlands near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her debut picture book, The Secret Life of the Red Fox, written by acclaimed wildlife author, Laurence Pringle, received a starred review from School Library Journal. Kate Garchinsky received a grant from the Eckelberry Fellowship at the Academy of Natural Sciences, where she has been researching and illustrating extinction stories about North American birds such as the Passenger Pigeon and the Carolina Parakeet. Prior to creating children’s books, Kate designed lots of fun things like toys, birdbaths and trail maps. She lives with her husband Brian, Julia and Spencer the cats, and her one-eyed beagle, Maggie May. Upcoming Books: The Secret Life of the Little Brown Bat, written by Laurence Pringle, Boyds Mills Press, Spring 2018; Belle’s Journey written by Rob Bierregaard,