Tweens Read 2024 Authors
Keynote Speaker - Kwame Mbalia
Kwame is a husband, father, writer, a New York Times bestselling author, a publisher, and a former pharmaceutical metrologist (in that order). He is the author of the bestselling Tristan Strong series, the first of which was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor. Kwame is the co-author of Last Gate of The Emperor with Prince Joel Makonnen, from Scholastic Books, and the editor of the #1 New York Times bestselling anthology Black Boy Joy, published by Delacorte Press.
And if you weren’t tired of listening to Kwame’s bio, there’s more, because Kwame is also a Publisher with his imprint Freedom Fire, a collaboration with Disney Books! His newest middle grade adventure, Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek, is a Freedom Fire title and launches October 2024. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he survives on Dad jokes and Cheez-Its.
Tweens Read Alumni 2023
Kelly J. Baptist - Terry J. Benton-Walker - Max Brallier - Roseanna A. Brown - Angela Cervantes - Jorge Cham - Chan Chau - Jim Di Bartolo - Maura Jortner - Gordon Korman - Minh Le - Alex London - Pedro Martin - Morgan Matson - Stacy McAnulty - Julie Murphy - Jewell Parker-Rhodes - Dan Santat (keynote) - Jamie Sumner - Matt Tavares - Laini Taylor - Colleen AF Venerable - Stephanie Yue
Tweens Read Alumni 2022
Varsha Bajaj - J.C. Cervantes - Dhonielle Clayton - Adrianna Cuevas - J. Elle - Stuart Gibbs - Ben Guterson - Nathan Hale - Terri Libenson - Gillian McDunn - Jennifer A. Nielsen - Rex Ogle - Maulik Pancholy - Celia C. Perez - Adam Perry - Julian Randall - Justin A. Reynolds - Lora Senf - Christina Soontornvat (Keynote) - Kiersten White - Lisa Yee - Jennifer Ziegler
Tweens Read Alumni 2021 (Virtual)
Samira Ahmed - B.B. Alston - Karla Arenas Valenti - Rena Barron - Julie Berry - Elizabeth Bunce - Josephine Cameron – Maisie Chan - Soman Chainani (keynote) - Sheela Chari - Sharon Draper - Elizabeth Eulberg - Nizrana Farook - Ellen Hagan - Veera Hiranandani - Gordon Korman - Hope Larson - Terri Libenson - Alex London - Kwame Mbalia - Christian Mckay Heidicker - Lisa McMann - G. Neri - Jewell Parker Rhodes - Misako Rocks! - Nadia Shammas - Maleeha Siddiqui - Emma Steinkellner - Kelly Yang
Tweens Read Alumni 2020 (Virtual)
James Bird - Dusti Bowling - Jen Cervantes - Brandy Colbert - Jerry Craft (keynote) - Adrianna Cuevas - Saadia Faruqi – Debbie Michiko Florence - Kereen Getten - Lamar Giles - Alex Graudins - Nathan Hale - Kate Hannigan - Alyssa Hollingsworth - K.A. Holt - Varian Johnson - Tae Keller - - Lily Lamotte - Tanya Lloyd Kyi - Janae Marks - Gillian McDunn - Lisa Moore Ramee - Daniel Nayeri - NNedi Okorafor - James Ponti - Leila Sales - Chris Schweizer - Chad Sell - Laura Shovan - Christina Soontornvat - Nic Stone - Alicia Williams - Shannon Wright
Tweens Read Alumni 2019
Varsha Bajaj - Rebecca Balcárcel - Robbi Behr - Xavier Garza - Carlos Hernandez - Matthew Holm - Jo Knowles - Remy Lai - Rajana LaRocca - Kwame Mbalia - Andy Mientus - Catherine Gilbert Murdock - Julie Murphy - Rex Ogle - Lincoln Peirce - James Riley - Jason Reynolds (keynote) - Barbara Carroll Roberts - Jon Scieszka - Esta Spalding - Sandy Stark-McGinnis - Jamie Sumner - Matthew Swanson - Jasmine Warga - Steven Weinberg
Tweens Read Alumni 2018
Julissa Arce - Jeanne Birdsall - Ryan Calejo - J.C. Cervantes - Marie Miranda Cruz - Soman Chainani - Donna Gephart - Karina Yan Glaser - Margaret Peterson Haddix - Varion Johnson (keynote) - Hena Khan - K.A. Holt - Tae Keller - Katherine Marsh - Stacy McAnulty - Torrey Maldanado - Brendan Reichs - Jennifer A. Nielsen - Leila Sales - T.R. Simon - Victoria Schwab - Mariko Tamaki - Mark Tatulli - Jacqueline West - Jennifer Zieger
Tweens Read Alumni 2017
David Barclay-Moore - Stephen Bramucci - Jessica Brody - Jake Burt - Rob Buyea - Andrew Clements - Lindsay Eagar - Alan Gratz - Lisa Greenwald - Paul Griffin - James Hannibal - Caleb Zane Huett - Victoria Jamieson - Erin Entrada Kelly - Leland Melvin (keynote) - Kate Milford - Celia Perez - James Ponti - Corabel Shofner - Christina Soontornvat - Tamara Ireland Stone - Wade Albert White - Judd Winick - Allan Woodrow - Kat Yeh
Tweens Read Alumni 2016
John David Anderson - Jonathan Auxier - Tracey Baptiste - Kate Beasley - Frank Beddor - Ally Carter - Karen Cushman - Gitty Daneshvari - Margaret Dilloway - Margarita Engle - Elizabeth Eulberg - Dan Gemeinhart - Donna Gephart - Adam Gidwitz (keynote) - Chris Grabenstein - Jennifer Holm - Amy Ignatow - Jo Knowles - Barry Lyga - D.J. MacHale - Cammie McGovern - Lisa McMann - Jason Reynolds (keynote) - Rene Saldaña Jr. - Augusta Scattergood - Monika Schröder - Trenton Lee Stewart (keynote) - Tui Sutherland - Lauren Tarshis - Ursula Vernon - Lisa Yee - Karen Romano Young
Tweens Read Alumni 2015
Crystal Allen - Katherine Applegate (keynote) - Jeff Anderson - Ali Benjamin - Cecil Castellucci - Nicolas Gannon - Lydia Gil - Christina Diaz Gonzalez - Polly Holyoke - Ingrid Law - Nikki Loftin - Alexander C. London - Jonathan Maberry - Kekla Magoon - Jennifer Nielsen - Michael Northrop - Ken Oppel - Jackson Pearce - Jenn Reese - Geoff Rodkey - Kevin Sands - Rebecca Stead (keynote) - Wendy wan-Long Shang - Lemony Snicket - Linda Urban - Gene Luen Yang (keynote)
Tweens Read Alumni 2014
Will Alexander - Lou Anders - Jonathan Auxier - Varsha Bajaj - Megan Frazer Blakemore - Jessica Brody - Jennifer Brown - Matt Cody - Stu Gibbs - Jimmy Gownley - S.E. Grove - Margaret Peterson Haddix (keynote) - Bruce Hale - Karen Harrington - Jenni Holm - Jaleigh Johnson - Varian Johnson - Kirby Larson - M.A. Larson - Matt London - Megan Shull - Greg Leitich Smith - Natalie Lloyd - Obert Skye - Matt Ward - Tom Watson - Jacqueline Woodson (keynote) - Jennifer Ziegler
Tweens Read Alumni 2013
Kathi Appelt - Lee Bacon - T.A. Barron - Michael Buckley - Caroline Carlson - Michael Fry - Lisa Greenwald - Tommy Greenwald - Shannon Hale (keynote) - Lisi Harrison - Amy Ignatow - Gordon Korman - Jeramey Kraatz - Christopher Krovatin - Diana Lopez - D.J. MacHale (keynote) - John Bemelmans Marciano - Megan McCafferty - Sarah Mlynowski - Catherine Gilbert Murdock - Erica Perl - Holly Goldberg Sloan - Jude Watson
Tweens Read Alumni 2012
W.H. Beck - Heather Brewer (keynote) - Shana Burg - Tommy Greenwald - Deron Hicks - Amy Ignatow - Lynne Kelly - Diana Lopez - Shannon Messenger - E.J. Patten - Trent Reedy - Geoff Rodkey - Dave Roman - Rachel Renee Russell - Augusta Scattergood - Lisa Schroeder - Greg Leitich Smith - Roland Smith - Raina Telgemeier
Tweens Read Alumni 2011
Crystal Allen - Michael Buckley - Kat Falls - Matthew Kirby - Lindsey Leavitt - Christina Mandelski - Lisa McMann - Richard Peck (keynote) - Alan Sitomer - Obert Skye - Clete Smith - Andrea White
