SoCal Fall Harvest: Meet Our Faculty

Based in San Francisco, California, Sally M. Kim is an associate agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She represents a wide range of children’s book authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators of picture books through middle grade. Sally is drawn to stories with a distinct voice, unexpected wit, aggressive pacing, punchy and/or emotionally resonant endings. When it comes to illustration, she gravitates to traditional mediums and is always on the lookout for versatile artists with a unique take on color, texture, perspective, and thoughtful details. Sally is especially eager to see authentic explorations of underrepresented cultures, relationships, and identities.

Brian LaRossa (he/him) is an executive art director in the hardcover picture book group at Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. After hours he teaches a course on design criticism for The City College of New York. He has written numerous critical essays for publications such as Design Observer and AIGA’s Eye on Design. He also regularly volunteers for We Need Diverse Books and manages his own display font foundry, which developed a typeface for Google Fonts. In his spare time, he writes fiction. His work has won awards from the Type Directors Club, Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, Print Magazine, and his conceptual poetry is included in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art. He lives and works in New York City. You can follow him on BlueSky @BrianLaRossa

Robin Preiss Glasser has had two careers, the first as a professional ballet dancer and the second as a children’s book illustrator. With over 100 books to her credit, and winner of the Children’s Book Council’s “Illustrator of the Year Award” in 2013, Robin is best known as the illustrator of the Fancy Nancy series. Books in the series have been on the New York Times Bestseller list for more than 330 weeks, selling over 48 million volumes. Nancy starred in her own Emmy-nominated Disney television animated series that premiered in 2018 and ran for 3 seasons. Robin’s most recent books are The Verts, written by international best-selling novelist Ann Patchett, and Flower Girls, which she co-authored with her sister, Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman. In September, 2025, a 20th Anniversary Fancy Nancy book will be published by Harper Collins, written by Jane O’Connor, called Besties for Eternity. Robin has two grown children, Sasha and Benjamin, and lives in San Juan Capistrano, California, with her husband, attorney Robert Berman.

Tina Athaide is a children’s book author who brings the richness of diverse cultural experiences to life through her stories. She is the award-winning author of Orange for the Sunsets and novel in verse, Wings to Soar. Her upcoming books include Sounds of Trash (Charlesbridge/STEAMworks, 2026) and Sunshine in Monsoons (HarperCollins, Summer 2026). Through her work, Tina hopes to open readers’ hearts and inspire meaningful conversations.

Marie Chan shares stories that inspire love for all. Being the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants fueled her passion to write children’s books that amplify underrepresented voices, highlight hidden figures in Asian American history, and build cross-cultural awareness. Marie's book, Mamie Takes a Stand: The True Story of Mamie Tape, a Chinese American Girl's Fight for School Rights, received a 2024 Eureka! Gold Award for Excellence in Children's Nonfiction from the California Reading Association and was listed in the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature's Best Books of 2024. Marie was awarded a BIPOC scholarship sponsored by Christopher Paul Curtis and SCBWI for her biography of Mamie Tape. As a former California public school teacher, she holds Mamie Tape’s story in her heart because she would not have been allowed to teach or study in California if Mamie had not fought against racial discrimination and won her case. Marie lives in California with her husband, two children with a third in heaven, and her giant rabbit, Sunshine. You can learn more about Marie at her website, mariechan.com and connect with her on Instagram @mariechanbooks.

R.S. Mellette is the author of Kiya And the Morian Treasure, Kiya And The Planet of the Fates, Billy Bobble Makes A Magic Wand, Billy Bobble and the Witch Hunt, and various short stories. He's lived a sampler plate life. Starting as a classically trained actor, he has gone on to work behind the scenes in film & television on such titles as: Xena: Warrior Princess, Blue Crush, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, and more. He went on to write and direct the festival award-winning feature Jacks Or Better. Besides acting on stage he's also directed and designed lights & sound all around the Southland. He retired as Associate Director of the Dances With Films festival and the PAL board representative for SCBWI-LA.

Amanda Gaglione is an assistant editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, where she is mostly acquiring middle grade and young adult fiction and picture books. She is most passionate about uplifting diverse stories and creators and loves books that sparkle with clever magic or host irresistible eeriness.