Oktoberfest 2025

With a strong background in editing and writing, Michael enjoys teaching at workshops and conferences to help develop emerging writers. He is fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational French. Before joining Veritas, Michael had professions as diverse as programming simulators for nuclear submarines and owning an inn in Vermont.

Karly is an agent at Fuse Literary building KidLit universes with stories that matter. She first joined the agency in 2016 as a reader for Tricia Skinner and then promoted to Literary Assistant soon after. In 2019, she was promoted to associate agent. Karly has built a career with a strong background as a freelance editor as well as extensive experience with graphic design and marketing. She is looking to develop long-term career authors and nurture their entire writing journey as a strong editorial agent with marketing, social media, and design support. Karly is also the KidLit track coordinator for the San Francisco Writers Conference. Karly’s clients have won or been nominated for such awards as Kirkus Best Books of the Year, NCTE Notable Books List, SLJ Best Book of the Year, and Kirkus Prize Finalist.

Rachel Kent started at Books & Such as a summer intern while she was attending U.C. Davis and then, after graduating, worked part-time at the agency as an assistant. Rachel has been an agent with Books & Such since 2007, and has more than fifteen years of experience and training working closely with Janet Kobobel Grant and the Books & Such team. Through Rachel’s work at the agency and with authors, she has gained an understanding of the publishing process, contract negotiation, and what it takes to successfully write and market a book. Rachel’s goal is to develop strong relationships with her authors and to help them to develop lasting relationships with their editors and publishers. She has worked with many authors to place their books with publishers and to help shape their writing careers. Rachel acquires fiction and nonfiction projects and is open to children’s picture book submissions. She lives with her family in Northern California.

Prior to joining Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Sally spent more than fifteen years in children’s book marketing and publicity at a variety of publishers including Macmillan, Penguin, and Chronicle Books. More recently, she has worked as an independent consultant for global children’s book publishers and literacy-related non-profits. Sally lives in San Francisco, California, where she spends most of her free time taking videos of her cat. Sally is looking to represent a wide range of children’s book authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators. She 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 versatile artists using traditional mediums and those with a unique take on color, texture, perspective, and unexpected details.

Stefanie joined Ladderbird Literary Agency in April 2021 after spending her early career advocating for marginalized folks in publishing as a technical editor at a national laboratory, senior editor at the literary journal F(r)iction, and book coach and editor for women of color. She is one-half Mexican, one-quarter Japanese, and one-quarter Irish. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, both from the University of California at Davis. Aside from reading, she enjoys hiking, swimming, baking strange new things, and playing the piano. Her favorite place in the world is Yosemite National Park. You can find her on Twitter @agentstefanie, on Instagram @agent.stefanie, or on BlueSky @agentstefanie.bsky.social.

Mary C. Moore has represented the Nebula-nominated The Unbroken by C.L. Clark (Orbit, 2021) and NPR’s Books We Love pick The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei (Flatiron, 2024). Mary’s first career was in field biology, which took her around the world, from Ghana to Costa Rica to Maui, before settling at the San Francisco Zoo. But her love of books proved to be just as strong as her love of animals. While working at the zoo she earned her MFA in Creative Writing and English at Mills College, Oakland and made a career change to publishing. Mary represents a wide range of fiction as an Aevitas agent based in the Bay Area. She likes to work with clients long-term, and is comfortable representing multiple genres/age-ranges that an author is interested in, although prefers to begin a partnership in one genre before jumping to another. She is currently hoping to find layered and deeply satisfying upmarket fiction, bookclub fiction with light speculative elements, and SFF stories with fresh worlds and nuanced themes. Her taste is eclectic, so if you are unsure, query her anyway.

Jennifer March Soloway is a senior agent with the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Agenting is her dream job. She loves working with writers and illustrators, and nothing gives her greater joy than to help an author elevate their story. She enjoys all genres and kidlit categories, from laugh-out-loud picture books to young adult. A suspense junkie, she adores action-packed thrillers and mysteries. Throw in a dash of romance, and she’s hooked! But as much as she loves a good thriller, her favorite novels focus on family, relationships, sexuality, mental health, or addiction. Regardless of genre, she is most drawn to emotionally compelling voices and fresh perspectives underrepresented in literature. To learn more about Jennifer, follow her on Twitter, @marchsoloway, and find her full wish list at

Amelia Mack was the art director and designer for a New York Times Best Children's Book of 2024 and Society of Illustrators 2024 Original Art Show Gold Medal winning book, Pepper & Me by Beatrice Alemagna (Hippo Park). Previously a children's art director at Chronicle Books for 14 years, then founding art director of Astra's boutique imprints, Hippo Park and Minerva for two; Amelia is now children's art director at newly rebranded Union Square & Co, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. Collaboration, visions and crazy ideas coming together and being realized, and uncovering the beating, playful, wide-open child's heart of the story are the things Amelia loves most about creating children's books. She also loves all the itty-bitty details of making the "book as object" an experience to hold and read (over and over again).

Emily Daluga (she/her) is an editor at Chronicle Books who focuses mostly on middle-grade novels and kids graphic novels. Whether it be heartfelt contemporary fiction or funky genre fiction, she’s most drawn to stories that feature a diverse cast of queer characters, monsters of any kind, unexpected twists, and tug-at-your-heartstrings emotions. When not editing, she enjoys reading and writing in cozy coffee shops, seeing musicals with her partner, and overanalyzing bad horror movies. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Summer Dawn Laurie entered the world of children’s book publishing in 1997 at Chronicle Books for Children, working in both the marketing and editorial departments. In 2000 she joined Tricycle Press, the children's imprint of Ten Speed Press where as Senior Editor she worked on over 50 books published across varied genres—picture books, board books, novels, activity books, fiction and nonfiction. After seven years she became an independent editor, working directly with authors and publishers. Since 2007 Summer has worked as a children’s bookseller, starting the Wild Girls Mother-Daughter Book Club and running a monthly children's writers' critique group. For 15 years, Summer managed the children’s and teen programming of San Francisco’s annual Litquake literary festival. She was the founding chair of the NCIBA Children's Alliance and currently sits on advisory councils for both BAC Group and the ABC Group of the ABA.

Ariel Richardson is a Senior Editor in Children's at Chronicle Books in San Francisco. She's a versatile bookmaker, comfortable with everything from creating large publishing programs and ideating in-house ‘homegrown’ ideas, to participating in high-profile auctions. She has demonstrated successes, such as Invisible Things landing on the New York Times bestseller list its first week on sale and This Is How We Do It being the most reprinted book in the company the year it released. They made There Is a Rainbow, a picture book about the pandemic, in under 6 months from acquisition to publication. And Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration won the Robert F. Sibert Medal and Bologna Ragazzi Award. She has worked at three independent bookstores on two coasts, and has a masters degree in Children’s Literature from Simmons University.

Born in New Orleans, raised in Houston, & now living in Manhattan, Irene Vázquez is a queer Black Mexican American poet, translator, and journalist who writes at the intersection of Black cultural work, placemaking and the environment. Irene's debut chapbook Take Me To the Water was released by Bloof Books in 2022. Their poetry also appears in When Language Broke Open: Queer and Trans Black Writers of Latin American Descent, out from University of Arizona Press in 2023. Irene is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominated poet. Irene's first work of French-to-English translation, Aiko and the Planet of Dogs, is forthcoming from Levine Querido in October 2024. Their translation of Jessica Oublié's graphic memoir on the French Caribbean chlordecone crisis, Toxic Tropics: A Horror Story of Environmental Injustice, is forthcoming in November 2024 from Street Noise Books. Irene completed a B.A. in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration and English at Yale. In 2021, with the support of the Pulitzer Center, Irene reported on environmental justice advocacy and healing in Black and Indigenous communities on the Louisiana coast. By day, Irene works as an associate editor at Levine Querido, where they edited the USA Today bestseller, The Free People's Village. When not in the world of books, Irene likes drinking coffee, watching the WNBA, and reminding folks that the South has something to say.

Kerry Aradhya has loved playing with words since she was a little girl. She is the author of the picture book biography ERNO RUBIK AND HIS MAGIC CUBE (Peachtree, 2024) and more than a dozen poems in award-winning children’s magazines such as Babybug, Ladybug, and Highlights High Five. She also supports young writers in her role as a collaborating artist with the nonprofit Society of Young Inklings. When not writing for children, Kerry works as a science writer and editor, performs with a quirky modern dance ensemble, and occasionally muses about children’s literature and dance at her blog, Picture Books & Pirouettes. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, their two daughters, and one cute but naughty pooch named Sofie.

Susan Cabael is a perpetual work in progress. She aspires to publish picture books that connect to readers and make people feel seen. As a long-time elementary educator she is surrounded by gorgeous books in her classroom that help her students become more empathetic so they can contribute to a just and inclusive society. Besides writing books she publishes a weekly newsletter highlighting books by and about Asians/Asian Americans, her writing journey, and musings about teaching and life. She loves farmers’ markets, discovery, and restoring her soul with pastries at the beach. Susan serves as the SCBWI SF/South co-Assistant Regional Advisor. Represented by Stefanie Molina-Santos of Ladderbird Literary Agency.

Nicole Chen’s experience growing up Taiwanese American, and the blend of Catalan, Spanish, Taiwanese and American influences in her present home, fuels her desire to write and tell stories that reflect a diverse and multicultural American identity. Nicole lives in sunny California with her Andorran husband and young daughter. Her debut picture book, HOW WE SAY I LOVE YOU, illustrated by Lenny Wen and published by Knopf BFYR (December 2022) was a Target Book Club pick and selected by the Dollywood Foundation for inclusion in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program. Her debut middle grade novel, IT’S BOBA TIME FOR PEARL LI!, from Quill Tree/Harper Collins (February 2023) is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her third book, middle grade historical fiction novel LILY XIAO SPEAKS OUT, was released on May 7th, 2024.

Cindy Derby is an author and illustrator of many critically acclaimed books for children, including Outside In, written by Deborah Underwood, which received a Caldecott Honor as well as five starred reviews. NPR has called her illustrations “mesmerizing,” and The New York Times regards her work as “profound…alive…and wonderfully out of control.” Cindy’s books have been translated all over the world and have also been recognized with honors such as the Golden Kite Honor for Picture Book Illustration, the Crystal Kite Award, France’s Philosophia Jeunesse Prize, Brazil’s UNESCO Reading Chair Selection 10 Seal, and the Alpaca Award (bronze medal) in Japan’s Kembuchi Picture Book Awards. She lives with her family in San Francisco.

Susan B. Katz is the award-winning, bestselling, Spanish-bilingual author/illustrator of over 80 books with Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Sourcebooks, Capstone, Lerner (Sesame Street), North South, Little Bee, Barefoot Books, and Heinemann. More than half of her books are STEAM titles, including books about the Costa Rican rain forest in which she worked. Her biography of RBG, The Story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, hit #18 on Amazon’s overall Bestseller List as well as #9 in children’s books. Meditation Station, a picture book about trains and mindfulness, won the International Book Award for Best Mind/Body/Spirit Children’s Book and was selected as an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Non-Fiction Book for Kids. Ms. Katz also earned the Moonbeam Gold Award for Best Picture Book in celebration of My Mama Earth. Her recent book, Gaudí: Architect of Imagination earned a starred review from School Library Journal and made the Bank Street Best Book list. Share Your Love also earned a National Parent Product Award. For over 30 years, Ms. Katz worked as a bilingual elementary educator, National Board Certified Teacher, and literacy specialist. Susan’s professional book for teachers, The SWIRL Method: Supporting Multilingual Learners as they Speak, Write, Interact, Read, and Listen (Solution Tree, Jan 2025) has a foreword by Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy who hailed it as "a universal, groundbreaking, go-to professional development guidebook on how to best serve multilingual learners in classrooms, teacher’ colleges, and homes.” Susan is an internationally-renowned keynote speaker and workshop facilitator who also launched and ran Facebook and Instagram’s author vertical out of their headquarters. She is currently co-authoring a narrative nonfiction book for adults, entitled Angels of Amsterdam (Little Brown/Hachette, 2027) about the heroic rescue of 600 Jewish children from a Dutch daycare during WWII. Susan is also an avid wildlife photographer with her first solo exhibit debuting this fall in Tiburon, California. You can find out more about Susan’s books, keynotes, workshops, and school visits on her website.

Steph Lau is an Asian-American author-illustrator and former pastry chef from sunny California. She lives in a hilly house by the bay, with two beloved monsters, a ravenous pet rabbit, and a freezer stuffed with half-eaten ice cream. ​Steph works primarily in picture books and graphic novels — usually with a splash of mischief. Her author-illustrator picture book debut, The Abominable Snow Dancer (Penguin Workshop), launches in November.

Ian Lendler is a multiple award-winning writer of picture books, non-fiction (adult and middle-grade), and graphic novels. He sold his first book at age 21, and has been working as a professional writer ever since. Over the course of his now 25-year career (which makes him feel old typing that), he has worked in every capacity of the writing life. He has been a copy editor, magazine editor, freelance journalist, publishing assistant (Harper Collins), as well as writing for commercials, TV, and film (solo projects and as a script doctor). Despite all that, he started my career as a children’s books writer because that is his first love, and he has now dedicated himself full-time to that genre. He can and will talk story development for hours. Just try and stop him. He graduated in 1996 from Columbia University where he majored in film-writing.

Marissa Moss has written more than seventy children’s books, from picture books to middle-grade and young adult novels. Best known for the Amelia’s Notebook series, her books are popular with teachers and children alike. Her young adult novel, A Soldier’s Secret: the Incredible True Story of Sarah Emma Edmonds, a Civil War Hero, won the California Silver Book Award. Barbed Wire Baseball, a picture book biography won the California Book Award, Gold medal and was named an ALA Notable Book and a Notable Book for Social Studies this year. Her books have been translated into French, Spanish, Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, and Polish. Her first adult book, Last Things: a Graphic Memoir of Loss and Love, won the Cowan Award. In 2013, Moss founded Creston Books, starting the small children’s press with a kickstarter campaign. Dedicated to strong storytelling, the creator-centered house hopes to give debut and established authors a bigger role in their books, from design to marketing. Each list of four titles has a good balance of picture book and older readers, debut authors and well-known names, and strives to showcase the very best in children’s books. Of the nineteen titles published so far, a third have earned starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly, three are Junior Library Guild selections, one was named a Notable Book for Social Studies, one an Outstanding Trade Science Book, Cook Honor Book, Eureka Gold Medal Winner, and Amelia Bloomer book, and three made the Kirkus Best Books lists.

Shirley Ng-Benitez is an award-winning author/illustrator who has illustrated over 30 books for children. Her creative journey includes graphic design: GabbyandCo.com, and hand-letttering for American Greetings, Inc. A love for all things handmade, she’s continually experimenting in traditional media including watercolor, gouache, and painted & cut-paper collage. Earth, its creatures, and a deep wish for more compassion and connection in the world, are inspiration for her art and stories. In ’20, she founded the art auction @AWEtober on Instagram which has raised tens of thousands to support victims of the California wildfires, and coral reef restoration efforts around the globe. She lives in the Bay Area with her family and two black cats, and is thrilled to be working on her debut picture book, DOWN, THROUGH, UP by Quill Tree Books releasing Winter ‘25.

Kenard Pak is originally from Howard County, Maryland. He worked as a visual development artist for DreamWorks Animation, Disney Feature Animation, and Laika Studios before he began illustrating picture books, including Have You Heard the Nesting Bird?, The Dinner That Cooked Itself, The Fog, and Cat Wishes. He has also written and illustrated a seasonal series that began with Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn. Kenard lives and works in lovely San Francisco with his wife and cats.

Bobby has been drawing cartoons for longer than he can remember. While still in high school, he created a comic strip for the weekly teen section of the Sacramento Bee that ran from 1991-1993 before heading off to attend the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where he earned his BFA in Film. While at CalArts, Bobby created several short animated films, including his senior piece for which he received a Student Emmy Award. Bobby joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1997 and has been an animator and story artist on many of the studio’s feature films including “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.,” and Academy Award®-winning features “Finding Nemo,” and “The Incredibles.” On the Golden Globe®-winning feature “Cars,” Bobby held the role of Directing Animator, and continued on as the Supervising Animator for Academy Award®-winning feature “Toy Story 3.” When not working on animated films, Bobby continued to draw cartoons for himself. From 2003-2004, in the age before social media, Bobby created the web comic Six Foot Six Year Old. Bobby briefly left Pixar in 2011. During that time he served as the Chief Creative Officer of a venture backed entertainment start-up as well as worked in film development for various animation studios. He returned to Pixar to animate on “Inside Out,” “The Good Dinosaur,” “Finding Dory,” “Toy Story 4,” and “Onward.” He was a Supervising Animator on “Cars 3” and Pixar’s Academy Award®-winning feature film “Soul.” Bobby most recently directed episodes of the Disney+ series “Cars on the Road,” and worked on “Inside Out 2” and “Elio”. In addition to his work at Pixar, Bobby’s debut middle-grade graphic novel from First Second Books, NORTH FOR THE WINTER, arrives in bookstores September 2, 2025. Bobby lives in Oakland, California with his wife, daughter, son, a few chickens, a spoiled cat and a pretty cute dog.

Mae is author of the middle grade novels The House That Lou Built, Any Day With You, and How to Win a Slime War (out September 2021). She is the past recipient of a PEN Emerging Voices Fellowship and has been a writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Her writing & photography has been featured in many print (remember print?!) and online publications including Pregnancy Magazine, Working Mother Magazine, Patagonia, Pottery Barn Kids, Red Tricycle and The Bigger the Better the Tighter the Sweater: 21 Funny Women on Beauty, Body Image, and Other Hazards of Being Female (Seal Press), and she worked with the Filipino-American community of Los Angeles to edit the nonfiction book Images of America: Filipinos in Los Angeles (Arcadia Publishing). For nearly a decade, Mae also worked at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, developing, implementing, and overseeing top notch literary events, creative and screenwriting courses, and helping to build a thriving literary community. She lives with her family in the suburban wild of Northern California with her husband and sons, their rascally dog, and two very smart pet rats.

Maritza Ruiz-Kim is a Bay Area artist and writer who makes books for kids. Her current projects include picture books, a young reader graphic novel, and a hybrid illustrated middle grade novel. She’s published comics and an illustrated essay in MUTHA Magazine. Before coming to kid lit, she exhibited her fine art studio work in gallery shows in New York, Miami, Santa Fe, and San Francisco. Maritza currently serves as a Co-Illustrator Coordinator for the SF North & East Bay Region of SCBWI and also makes use of offerings from Kids Comics Unite, The Illustration Department, and Storyteller Academy. In Spring 2025, she has a comic included in the crowdfunded, LET’S GO! A Kids Comics Studio Anthology!

Nadia Salomon is a #PitMad Success Story and award-winning author of GOODNIGHT GANESHA, which is a Bank Street Best Book, ALSC DIA Selection, and #NCTEWow book. Her new book, A VOICE OF HOPE: THE MYRLIE EVERS WILLIAMS STORY, released on Sept. 24, 2024! She writes on themes of South Asian and Caribbean culture, STEM, nonfiction, and humor. Nadia is an award-winning journalist and holds a journalism degree from Emerson College. When not participating in her own goodnight rituals or spinning silly yarns... you'll find her working closely with SCBWI, 12x12 Challenge, Kids Comics Unite, and Storyteller Academy.

Sandra Salsbury is the author/illustrator of THE BABY WHO STAYED AWAKE FOREVER (Doubleday Books for Young Readers 2025), BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD (Peachtree 2021), and SPRECKLE'S SNACK SURPRISE (Peachtree 2023), as well as the illustrator of various other books.

As an Indian American, Meera Sriram has lived equal parts of her life in both countries. Previously an electrical engineer, she now writes for children and advocates for diversifying bookshelves. Meera is the author of several picture books including A GIFT FOR AMMA, winner of the South Asia Book Award, BETWEEN TWO WORLDS, an American Library Association’s RISE: A Feminist Book Project selection, and DUMPLING DAY that was featured in The New York Times. She believes in the transformative power of stories and likes to write about people, places, and experiences less visible in children’s literature. Meera’s most recent titles include A GARDEN IN MY HANDS that garnered starred trade reviews, and OUR WORLD: INDIA, her first ever board book. Her forthcoming picture book THE SPICE BOX releases in Spring ’24 from Penguin Random House. Meera is the Equity & Inclusion Awards Co-coordinator at her regional SCBWI chapter and will be serving as a 2024 picture book mentor for We Need Diverse Books. She loves yoga, chai, woodsy hikes and urban murals, and lives with her husband and two teens in Berkeley, California.

Deborah Underwood is the author of more than twenty picture books, including Every Little Letter, The Panda Problem, Interstellar Cinderella, and New York Times bestsellers The Quiet Book, The Loud Book, and Here Comes the Easter Cat. She lives in Northern California.

SEINA WEDLICK is a Nigerian-American children’s book author who enjoys writing diverse stories infused with her culture and traditions. Seina is the author of NAMING CEREMONY (Abrams Kids, Spring 2023), THE NIGHT MARKET (Random House, Fall 2024), and SPACE FOR EVERYONE (Random House, Winter 2025). She is passionate about early literacy and equity in education. She believes in the importance of diversity, culture, and traditions which she incorporates into her books. She enjoys amplifying diverse voices as well as lending her time to support the creative arts at events catered towards socio-economically disadvantaged elementary schools.

Monica Wesolowska writes for both adults and children. Her most recent children’s picture book Elbert in the Air was named a “Best Children’s Book of the Year” by Bank Street College of Education. Her debut picture book Leo + Lea won an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. She’s also published widely for adults, including the memoir Holding Silvan: A Brief Life which was named a “Best Book of the Year” by Library Journal and The Boston Globe. In addition to writing, Monica is a respected creative writing instructor and editor. For over twenty years, she’s taught at Stanford Continuing Studies, UC Berkeley Extension, Left Margin Lit, Book Passage, and elsewhere around the Bay Area while also running an independent editing business. A graduate of Reed College and a former fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, she is the current co-coordinator for SCBWI, Alameda County. She lives with her family in her hometown of Berkeley, California.

Will Wolfe has written and published over 75 works of fiction, spanning genres including science fiction, romance, suspense, thriller, and post apocalyptic. His body of work includes short stories, novellas, middle grade books, novels, and children's picture books. Under the pen name William Oday, he wrote numerous highly-regarded post-apocalyptic thrillers and other stories. He is now focused solely on his true calling - children's books. You can find out more about his children's books at www.bigmoonbooks.com where his mission is to bring warmth, wonder, and giggles to readers of all ages.

Natasha Yim is a children’s author and freelance writer. She has published eleven picture books including, Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2014), a Junior Library Guild and Scholastic Book Club selection, Mulan's Lunar New Year (Disney Press, 2018), Luna's Yum Yum Dim Sum (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2020) and Lunar New Year (Words & Pictures, Quarto Books, 2023). She has also written for the children's magazines, "Highlights for Children", "Appleseeds", "Faces", and "Muse". Natasha's new books, Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes, another book in Charlesbridge Publishing's Storytelling Math series, will be released on Aug. 12, 2025. Her first board book, No School For Me (Change is Hard), part of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Babies series, will be released on Aug. 5, 2025. Natasha grew up in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong and loves to write about people and cultures from around the world.