Join us Tuesday, February 11 at 7:30 PM ET. Our topic this month is “Middle Grade Escapades Panel”
Writing is a big business, and there’s no bigger transformation from the moment a person gets a contract. Hear from the Middle Grade Escapades, a group of 16 middle grade authors debuting in 2025, as five of their members discuss learning the author business all while meeting writing deadlines and keeping their creativity intact.
Meet the Panelists:
Jess Callans is a queer children’s author and wanna-be-illustrator with an MFA from Rosemont College. He lives outside of Philly with his partner and four amazing kids, where they collectively bake, garden, and tirelessly pursue the human experience. Ollie In Between (MacKids, Feiwel & Friends) is his debut novel.
Emily Deibert spent most of her life in Toronto, Canada, but now lives in La Serena, Chile, where she writes children’s books by day and works as an astronomer by night. Bea Mullins Takes a Shot (forthcoming from Random House Books for Young Readers on February 25th, 2025) is her debut novel. In her spare time, Emily enjoys playing ice hockey—but like her novel’s protagonist, she’s not very good at it.
Nicole M. Hewitt is a middle grade author living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, her grown kids, and her overly-enthusiastic pups. She hates to run, but she succeeded in finishing a marathon (It was for a good cause!). She enjoys nature but doesn’t see nearly enough of it in Illinois, so her family travels as often as possible. She also loves to sing and can often be heard spontaneously composing incredibly profound songs about the fluffiest members of her family (the dogs, in case you weren’t sure). The Song of Orphan’s Garden (released on January 21, 2025 from Feiwel & Friends) is her debut novel.
Sarah J. Mendonca is a Portuguese-American author of magical books about misfits finding their own way in the world. Raised on her father’s bedtime stories, Sarah started writing about monsters at age eight and hasn’t stopped since. You can find her haunting dark forests, lurking in bookshops, or buried underneath her enormous tea collection. An Encantadora’s Guide to Monstros and Magic (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins) is her debut novel.
Stan Yan is an award-winning, first generation American-born-Chinese, Denver-based writer, illustrator, caricature artist and instructor. His work was the grand prize recipient of the 2022 SCBWI-FL Conference Portfolio Excellence Award! He currently teaches illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design and via the Cuddlefish Academy. His late MG graphic novel debut, THE MANY MISFORTUNES OF EUGENIA WANG is coming from Atheneum September 30, 2025.