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TweensRead Book Festival 2019
Calling all tweens!
Do you love books?
So do we!
Come meet 25 of your favorite authors for free.
Be sure to bring your ticket with you - your ticket will allow you to use the FAST PASS line!
Keynote Speaker
Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynolds is an award-winning writer, and when he says he is a writer, he means it in the same way that a professional ball player calls himself an athlete. This means he practices every day and does the best he can to get better at writing. He, like many middle grade boys, hates reading boring books and does everything in his power to make sure there are books that are not boring for those kids.
His newest middle grade book, Look Both Ways, is due out from Simon Kids this fall.
You can learn more about Reynolds on his website at
2019 Authors
Varsha Bajaj grew up in Mumbai, India, and when she came to the United States to obtain her master’s degree, her adjustment to the country was aided by her awareness of the culture through books. She is the author of the upcoming middle grade novel Count Me In. She has also written the middle-grade novel Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood and the picture books The Home Builders and This Is Our Baby.
She lives in Houston, Texas. You can learn more about her on her website at
Rebecca Balcárcel authored The Other Half of Happy, a middle-grade novel from Chronicle Books . Rebecca earned her MFA from Bennington Writing Seminars. Her work has appeared in journals and she has a book of poems, Palabras in Each Fist. Find her on YouTube as the
She loves popcorn, her kitty, and teaching her students at Tarrant County College as Associate Professor of English. You can learn more about her at
Xavier Garza is an author, artist, and storyteller whose work primarily focuses on growing up in the Rio Grande Valley. He published his first book, Creepy Creatures and Other Cucuys, in 2004. Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask was released in Spring 2005 and quickly became a hit among children and lucha libre fans. He followed that up with Charro Claus & the Tejas Kid: The story of Santa's Primo and His Little Sidekick.
Garza lives in San Antonio, Texas, with his wife Irma and their young son Vincent. You can learn more about Garza by following him on Twitter
Carlos Hernandez is a Cuban-American writer who has published more than 30 works of fiction, poetry and drama. He is also a Ph.D. in English (specialized in Creative Writing), a college professor, and a game writer/designer.
Follow him on Twitter
Matthew Holm is the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of more than 40 books for children. He is the co-creator (with his sister, Jennifer) of a number of graphic novels, including the Babymouse and Squish series and Sunny Side Up. He also co-wrote and illustrated the middle-grade novel Marvin and the Moths with Jonathan Follett.
He currently lives with his wife in New York's Hudson Valley.
Learn more about him on his website
Jo Knowles is the award-winning author of the young adult novels Lessons from a Dead Girl, Jumping Off Swings, and Read Between the Lines, among others. She has also written the middle-grade novels Where the Heart Is, Still a Work in Progress, and See You at Harry’s. She lives in Vermont.
Read more about her at
Remy Laistudied fine arts, with a major in painting and drawing. She was born in Indonesia, grew up in Singapore, and currently lives in Brisbane, Australia, where she writes and draws stories for kids, with her two dogs by her side.
Pie in the Sky is her debut middle-grade novel. Learn more about her on her website
Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area with her wonderful family and impossibly cute dog. After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, she spends her time writing novels and picture books, practicing medicine, and baking too many sweet treats. Her middle grade debut, Midsummer’s Mayhem is an Indian-American middle grade mashup of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and competitive baking. She is also the author of the picture books Seven Golden Rings, I’ll Go and Come Back, Where Three Oceans Meet, and other forthcoming books. Learn more about her at
Kwame is a husband, father, writer, and pharmaceutical metrologist in that order. His debut middle-grade novel, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, is coming in January 2020. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he enjoys impromptu dance sessions and Cheez-its.
Learn more about him at
Andy Mientus is an actor, singer, composer and writer. He is best known for starring in the Broadway musicals Spring Awakening, Les Misérables, and Wicked, and on television in the NBC musical drama Smash and as Hartley Rathaway in the CW series The Flash.
In 2018, he published the first book in The Backstagers series, a middle grade fiction series that follows the paranormal adventures of a high school stage crew. Backstagers and the Final Blackout is the third book in the series. Follow Andy on Twitter
Catherine Murdock grew up in in Connecticut, on a small farm with bees and goats and Christmas trees. In fifth grade she dreamed of being an author, and now she is one. Her book The Book of Boy was honored with a Newbery Honor earlier this year.
Learn more about her at
Julie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cats who tolerate her. After several wonderful years in the library world, Julie now writes full-time. When she's not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure.
Julie is also the author of the young adult novels Dumplin' (now a film on Netflix), Puddin', Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. You can visit Julie at
Rex Ogle has worked for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Scholastic, and Little Brown, creating books with LEGO, Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Men, and more. When he's not writing, you can find him reading or hiding outdoors. Rex lives in Los Angeles.
You can follow him on Instagram
Lincoln Peirce is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the successful Big Nate comic strip, and the Big Nate novels. Peirce was the storywriter for animations that appear on Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon.
James Riley is the New York Times bestselling author of the Half Upon a Time series, the Story Thieves series, and the Revenge of Magic series.
Contrary to what previous biographies have stated, he is a) real and b) not the character Nobody from his Story Thieves books. Where would people even get that idea? (Spoiler: From him. He totally made it sound like he really was Nobody. He thought it’d be funny. We’re sorry.)
Follow him on Twitter
Barbara Carroll Roberts is a graduate of Hamline University's Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program. She played competitive sports in high school and always wished there had been books in her library about athletic girls. That desire - and the realization that there still aren't many books about girls who truly love sports - inspired her to write this book. She lives outside of Washington, D.C. with her family and their many pets. This is her first novel.
You can visit her at
Jon Scieszka is best known for his bestselling picture books, including The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! and The Stinky Cheese Man. He is also the founder of
Steven Weinberg writes and illustrates kids' books about dinosaurs, roller coasters, beards, and chainsaws. He lives in the Catskills in New York. Steven can be found on Twitter
