Authors

Writers live at the center of everything we do.

For many students, meeting a writer is a powerful experience. Educators indicate that having writers visiting their classrooms creates a culture of literacy, engaging students with reading, the larger curriculum, and new stories and ideas about the world. This is why we’re always looking for writers who are willing to connect with young people about their work, the writing and publishing process, and the larger themes and ideas in their writing. Learn more.

Without writers, furthermore, we wouldn’t be able to recognize significant literary achievements. Here are the submission guidelines for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

"[It's] so cool when the teachers really work with the students and the material to bring it to life."

– Author Innosanto Nagara

“School visits are the most fun because they’re the most chaotic.”

– Author Mark Oshiro

“People often ask me what I like about being a poet. This is one of them. When students trust me to send me their work.”

– Author Alan King

"I just wanted to acknowledge how real you are in the book. You never hear those types of stories. I appreciate how you tell us your story. You're not hiding anything. You're not filtering anything."

– Student speaking to author Tony Lewis, Jr.

Our Writers

In recent years, our Education Programs staff members have worked with Sufiya Abdur-Rahim, Kelly J. Baptist, Bijan Bayne, Adriana Hernández Bergstrom, Sheri Booker, Caroline Brewer, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Lulu Delacre, Patricia Elam, Kondwani Fidel, Tope Folarin, Leah Henderson, Hugh “H.D.” Hunter, Terry Catasús Jennings, Kim Johnson, Joy Jones, Christine Kendall, Hena Khan, Meg Eden Kuyatt, Sylvia Liu, Shilpi Malinowski, Ofelia Montelongo, David Barclay Moore, Greg Neri, Mark Oshiro, Leslye Penelope, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Jamar J. Perry, Jason Reynolds, Alyssa Reynoso-Morris, Brendan Slocumb, R. Eric Thomas, Sergio Troncoso, Julian R. Vaca, Patricia Valdez, D. Watkins, Elizabeth Wein, Lakita Wilson, Morowa Yejidé, and many more!