Los Angeles Region

Annelouise Mahoney is a children’s book author/illustrator originally from Massachusetts. She is now living in Southern California with her husband and two daughters. She is drawn to stories that celebrate childhood and has a particular love for anthropomorphic animals. Her titles include author-illustrated book "Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night" (Two Lions) and "Little Purple Tractor", written by Erin Guendelsberger and illustrated by Annelouise (Sourcebooks Wonderland). She has several additional books forthcoming.

Molly grew up in New York and holds a BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art. She now lives and creates art & music in the diverse and historic neighborhood of Echo Park in Los Angeles, where she and her husband raised three amazing kids. She has a twin sister, (who is also an artist), plays drums, sings in a community choir and is learning the violin! Molly also loves exploring all kinds of art mediums, including making her own animated book trailers. Her life is full of art, music, family, friends, pets and many urban animals—even wild parrots!

Dan McCauley is a writer and teacher who grew up in New York City and is based in Los Angeles, California. Before writing books, Dan exercised his passion for writing in arts festivals and spoken word poetry. Before then, he secretly wrote poems in the back of his 8th-grade algebra notebook. Dan pursued his passion for teaching and storytelling at NYU and minored in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. After teaching in the Bronx, Dan moved to Los Angeles, where he continues to teach. Dan holds a Master's degree in Teaching and is the author of the "Thank You, World" series with Free Spirit Publishing.

Caroline L. Perry is a British-born, LA-based children’s author. Her books include "I AM NOT HAPPY!" (Simon & Schuster), "Messi’s Magic" (Scholastic Press), "The Memory Cake" (Holiday House) and "The Corgi and the Queen" (Macmillan). This year, she’s excited for the release of "I AM NOT GRUMPY!" (S&S), with "Nighty Knight" (S&S) and "Nobody’s Cat" (Kids Can Press) hitting shelves in 2027. A mother of three, Caroline also works as a volunteer public school writing instructor and youth soccer coach. In her rare moments of free time she enjoys planning family adventures, hiking, and baking—and eating—sweet treats.

Kimberly Tso was born in New York City, and growing up she split her time between there and Arlington, Virginia. She now lives in Los Angeles, California, with her partner and daughters. "Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken" is her debut picture book. Prior to writing children's books, she was a grant writer for nonprofits and taught grant writing to graduate public policy students. When she is not writing books, she enjoys cooking, reading, playing video games, solving puzzles, and spending time with her family.

Cassandra Federman has worked as a hand model, actor, wrestler, and manatee rescuer, but she found her true calling as an author-illustrator. A proud neurodivergent creator, she grew up in Massachusetts reading comics and drawing superheroes. She is the creator of the graphic novel "Story Spinners" (Amazon’s Best Books of 2025) and the illustrator for DC Comics’ "Aquamanatee" series, written by Ben Clanton. Her award-winning picture books include "Gray Squirrel Loses It!", "This Is a Sea Cow", and the ILA-award-winning "This Is a Seahorse". Cassandra lives in Los Angeles with her ND family and Siberian cat, Ivan the Snuggable.

Jacquelyn Stolos is the author of the novels "Edendale" (2020) for adults and "Asterwood" (2025) for children. Her stories and book reviews have been published in magazines like "Joyland", "No Tokens", "Necessary Fiction" and more. She’s been awarded fellowships from the New York State Summer Writers Institute, the Community of Writers, and Tin House. Jacquelyn earned her MFA in fiction from New York University. She co-founded and co-hosts LA’s "Something Something" series. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and sweet little cat.

Dr. Haleh Massey is a licensed clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist and shares a private practice in the suburbs of Los Angeles with her husband/BFF, Chris Massey, LMFT. In addition to marrying her husband/BFF and having two beautiful children, Dr. Massey’s lifelong dream has been: 1) to have an unlimited supply of turkey sandwiches and, 2) become a published children’s book author. While she’s still working on the first dream (any/all deli partnership inquiries welcome), her debut middle grade graphic novel, "Say Something, Poupeh Babaee!" illustrated by Ghazal Qadri (Little Bee Books) was released last year and was included in American Library Association’s 2025 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List and New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2025. Dr. Massey’s middle grade novel, "My Name is Harriet Mansoor (NOT Hairy Man Suit!)" illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh (Tu Books), comes out May 26th and its sequel, "My Name is Hangameh Mansoor (NOT Harriet Mansoor!)" (Tu Books) in spring ’27.

W. R. Miller - known informally as “Bob” – has written for "Starlog", "Comics Scene", "Animation Magazine", "Animation World Magazine", and "Animation Scoop". Bob has been involved in animation for four decades as a writer, character animator, special effects animator, and storyboard artist, with two Emmy Award honors for storyboards on "The Simpsons". His latest work is "The Unofficial Batman: The Animated Interviews", a five-volume set featuring the executives, producers, directors, writers, actors, designers, storyboard artists and composers involved in making "Batman: The Animated Series" and its spinoffs. Bear Manor Media is the publisher.

Daka Hermon is the author of the award-winning middle grade horror novel "Hide and Seeker" and "Nightmare King" (Scholastic). "Level Up", book three in the series, will be released Fall 2026. Additionally, she is the author of two National Geographic Readers titled "Marvel’s Spider-Man Bugs Out!" and "Marvel’s Storm: Disaster Alert!" She is also a staff writer for the Marvel/Disney Junior animated series "Spidey and His Amazing Friends". She loves chocolate and sweet tea and considers herself a Connect Four connoisseur.

Capri is a multi-talented artist with Enthrone Records Ent. LLC. She is a singer, author and composer whose mission is to inspire joy, confidence and self-belief in the next generation. Capri began to study opera at a very young age. She sang with both “The Los Angeles Music Center Opera” and “The Tri-Cities Opera”. She has also been a soloist for numerous major motion picture and television shows at Warner Bros. and other studios. This includes the “Batman” movies and “Beetlejuice”. She also played the “Opera Singer” in the Steven Soderbergh film “Suture”, which won the Sundance Film Festival. She recently won the Enthrone Records Honors for her single and music video for “Song of the Butterfly”.

Glenda Armand’s entire career has revolved around her love for children, teaching, and writing. She was a teacher and librarian for many years in public and private schools. Glenda became a published author in 2011 when her first book, "Love Twelve Miles Long", was published. Since then she has written over a dozen books. She enjoys writing about her birthplace, New Orleans, LA and picture book biographies about people who overcame great odds to do remarkable things. Her latest books are "Ice Cream Man" and "Down on the Bayou".

Kristin Riddick is the author of 4 books in the "Kat McGee Adventure" series: "Kat McGee Saves the World", "Kat McGee and the Halloween Costume Caper", "Kat McGee Saves America", and "Kat McGee and the Thanksgiving Turkey Train". Like Kat, Kristin never met an adventure she didn’t like. Her voice can be heard on television and in films, but you will never know it is her so it seems very mysterious. She teaches Pilates and cycling to stay sane, and because she thinks it puts people in better moods. Kristin currently spends most of her time being a baseball/basketball/driver mom and fierce advocate for her neighborhood.

From her Southern California home, pediatrician-turned-writer Micky O'Brady brings her black belts in Krav Maga and Judo to craft YA thrillers with romantic twists and fierce heroines. Her work has earned major recognition, with "Playing with #Fire" and “Time Warped” sweeping the 2024 and 2025 Outstanding Creator Awards and "CRISPR--CRIS PARR" shining at the 2025 Feathered Quills Awards. Through Curiosity Quills and Snowy Wings Publishing, her impressive portfolio includes "The President's Daughter" series, "Time Warped" trilogy, "Between Worlds", "Angel Down", "CRISPR--CRIS PARR", and "33 Degrees".

Emily Rosen is a mom, a freelance creative director and copywriter, and a children’s book author. She built her career working for top advertising agencies and brands and strives to use her creativity for good. Inspired by her son Max’s time in the NICU, she wrote her first children’s book to help families like hers. When Emily’s not writing, she loves going for runs, singing karaoke, and reading to her two kids. Proudly born and raised in Cleveland, OH, she now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their family.

Heidi Aubrey lives among the trees just outside Portland, Oregon, on six acres with her husband and a Pembroke Welsh corgi named Leo. When she's not dreaming up stories, she's exploring the mountain foothills or working on woodland restoration projects. She holds an illustration degree from ArtCenter College of Design in Los Angeles. She also studied figurative sculpture and classical draftsmanship at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle. “Ada and the Goat” is her debut picture book.

Angie makes her authorial debut with "Breaking the Ice". It was released by Simon and Schuster and is an Amazon best seller and Junior Library Guild selection. She has always loved stories about underdogs and feels privileged to tell Manon’s inspiring story. She is now a (somewhat) proficient ice hockey goalie and an avid hockey fan! Angie is also an actor and film producer. She has several other children’s stories in the works including an animated feature. She is passionate about storytelling and finding powerful and inspiring stories from voices that are often marginalized.

René Colato Laínez is a Hispanic educator and author of several bilingual/multicultural award-winning children's books. His books reflect the immigrant experience from a child’s point of view, covering topics such as cultural identity issues, the difficulties of learning a second language, and missing a loved one. Most of his books are based on his own experiences. He has a master's degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children & Young Adults. René is an elementary teacher at Fernangeles Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District.

Andrea J Loney has written over a dozen children’s books including board books, picture books, and chapter books. Her award-winning titles include "Double Bass Blues", "Take a Picture of Me James Vanderzee", "Abby in Orbit: All Systems Whoa", and "Bunnybear". Her most recent books include "Curve & Flow: The Elegant Vision of LA Architect Paul R Williams", and the Chicken Soup for the Soul Babies board book "Big Emotions (Bubble Up)". Andrea lives in Inglewood with her towering stacks of children’s books, her devoted family, and their embarrassingly spoiled pets.