Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’ve Met

I’ve been given the great opportunity to meet so many authors and illustrators in the past 20+ years! I love getting a chance to gush about some of my favorite books with the people who write them. And so many children’s authors and illustrators are so kind and just as nerdy when it comes to books! The best places to meet authors is, of course, book festivals where authors are in abundance. If you’re lucky like me to be a part of field professionally as well, you also get a chance to meet authors and illustrators at conferences too! And don’t forget connections made over social media! I’ve met so many authors over social media first and then gotten a chance to meet them in person later.

I always tell people that I wouldn’t necessarily be excited to see a movie star or singer in person, but give me a chance to talk books with children’s authors and I’m ecstatic!

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Authors I’ve Met

Tracey Baptiste

I’ve met Tracey Baptiste a number of times now, probably for the first time at the Princeton Children’s Book Festival! Princeton’s only about an hour from me, so I really enjoyed going over the years, especially because it was nice to see some of the local authors from the area year after year. Unfortunately, the Princeton Children’s Book Festival is no longer happening, but I loved it for many years.

Tracey is the author of The Jumbies trilogy, the Moko Magic series, Boy 2.0 and lots of other great titles!

Ashley Herring Blake

Like many of the authors on this list, I met Ashley Herring Blake at an ALA conference in the exhibit hall. The exhibit hall is a wild place of book lovers, publishers, vendors, authors, and illustrators. And while I did get much time with her, I’m a fan of her books and it was great to let her know!

Ashley is the author of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, and Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea, among a variety of young adult and adult titles too!

Ann Braden

I think I first met Ann Braden over social media, but then we finally got to meet in person and grab dinner together during a conference! Ann’s work is brilliant and I’ve got an extra affinity for her first book, The Benefits of Being an Octopus (because of the octopus theme), but I love all her books I’ve read.

Ann is also the author of Flight of the Puffin, Opinions and Opossums, Into the Rapids, and her newest book Hijacked by Goats.

Victoria J. Coe

I’ve met Victoria J. Coe at an ALA Conference and then we started following each other on social media. This past week, I got the chance to help Victoria do a book drop for her brand new book, How I Saved the World. It was so fun to be part of something like this and I really enjoyed it! You can check out my book review too.

Victoria is also the author of the popular Fenway & Hattie series and the Make Way for Fenway series too.

Josh Funk

I met Josh Funk originally on social media and then got to hang out with one year at the Princeton Children’s Book Festival. He’s a whiz at rhyming words and if you’ve never read Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, please make sure you do, it’s amazing!

Josh is the author of How to Code a Sandcastle, It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk, Lost in the Library, and Dear Dragon, among many others!

Chris Grabenstein

I’ve only had the pleasure of meeting Chris Grabenstein over Zoom when he did a visit at our library. It was such a great experience and any author who can write about dozens of other children’s books in his own book, is a cool person to know.

Chris has written the Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series, Dog Squad, No More Naps!, and Home Sweet Motel, among many others!

Michelle Kadarusman

I’ve only gotten a chance to meet Michelle Kadarusman over social media and on a Zoom video, but she is delightful and so interesting to speak with. She has lived all over the world and her books are filled with so much heart.

She is the author of Girl of the Southern Sea, Music for Tigers, Seabird, and others.

Pam Muñoz Ryan

I was given the wonderful gift of meeting Pam Muñoz Ryan at a dinner event at the PLA conference in late February 2020. It was such an honor to sit down with some other librarians and hear about her writing process, her newest book, and more.

Pam is the author of many books including Esperanza Rising, Mañanaland, Echo, and many others.

Brian Selznick

I think I first met Brian Selznick at the ALSC National Institute way back in 2010 in Atlanta! He’s super kind and really interesting and I’m a big fan of the way he merged storytelling through text and illustration in a way that hadn’t been done much before. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is definitely a book that has stuck with me!

Brian is also the author of Wonderstruck, The Marvels, Kaleidoscope, and many others.

Jerry Spinelli

I’ve met Jerry Spinelli a number of times at book stores and conferences. Jerry was born in Norristown which is very close to where I live now. He and his wife, Eileen (who is also an author), live in southeastern PA and have done a lot of school visits and author visits in the area.

Jerry is the author of a number of books including Maniac Magee, Crash, Stargirl, The Library Card, and so many more!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.