Illustrator Day AND MG & YA Day—LIVE! In Lancaster 2026: Faculty Bios

Brian Biggs is a best-selling, award-winning illustrator, author, and educator in Philadelphia. He has written and/or illustrated nearly 80 children’s books since 2004, including the Everything Goes series, Tinyville Town series, Jon Scieszka’s Frank Einstein books, Noisy Night, by Mac Barnett, and, most recently, The Whale’s Tale and the Otter’s Side of the Story, by Kate Messner. Brian also hosts a weekly series on YouTube called Sitting Around Talking About Art Supplies, and he teaches illustration at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University. Brian’s work can be found on his website, here: BrianBiggs.com

After much experience as a librarian and writer, Leslie Zampetti became a literary agent. Her award-winning and well-reviewed clients write picture books through young adult, fiction & nonfiction. She prioritizes stories by underrepresented voices, especially disabled writers. You can find Leslie on social media @literarylesliez or at https://www.openbooklit.com.

Eugenia Mello is an award-winning illustrator and art director from Buenos Aires, Argentina, now based in Brooklyn, NY. She is Associate Art Director of Strategic Development at Enchanted Lion Books and teaches illustration at the School of Visual Arts and Queens College in New York. Her work draws on the rhythms, palette, and visual language of her native Latin America. Mello has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, American Illustration, and The Art Directors Club of New York, and serves on the board of the Society of Illustrators. She is the author-illustrator of Moving and the illustrator of A River of Dust and Jazz for Lunch.

Claire Stetzer is a Senior Editor at Amulet (Abrams) who acquires middle grade and young adult fiction across genres. She grew up outside of Pittsburgh and fell in love with children’s books as a bookseller at her local indie (Penguin Bookshop), where she worked throughout high school and college. After completing NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute, she spent several years at Bloomsbury Children’s Books and Inkyard Press (HarperCollins) before joining the Amulet team. In addition to leading the program at Amulet for the New York Times bestselling Lightlark Saga by Alex Aster, her books include: Stonewall Honor-winner The Long Run by James Acker, Pura Belpré Honor-winner Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera, The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker, I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang, and upcoming titles Sun Chasers by Kacen Callender and Like and Subscribe by Jarrett Lerner.

Charlotte Wenger is a literary agent with Prospect Agency working from her home just north of Boston. Prior to joining Prospect, she was an associate editor at Page Street Kids. She has her Master of Arts in Children’s Literature from Simmons and has since mentored a number of their MFA in Writing for Children students. When she's not working, you can find her occasionally crafting, randomly breaking into song, and most importantly, being a toddler mom. Charlotte represents authors and illustrators of children's books - ranging from board books through YA, including graphic novels. You can find her online at www.charlottewenger.com.