Book Festival

Meg Auchenbach has been writing and illustrating books since she was a little girl, and has always dreamed of becoming a children's book author and illustrator. During this time, Meg was also known for eating crayons and coloring on things that she wasn't supposed to (like the family dog) with markers. 

Meg’s author/illustrator debut, If You Are an Artist (Peter Pauper Press, 2024) is inspired by her former career as an elementary art teacher, where she watched children daydream, experiment, and create. Meg’s hope is to create stories that inspire magical thoughts and cultivate a sense of wonder. 

When she is not creating, Meg loves hanging out with animals, cooking, reading and poking around antique shops and flea markets. Meg lives in Eastern PA with her husband, two young children, a deaf pitbull, and one very shy cat. 

Laura Gehl is the author of fifty books for young readers, including One Big Pair of Underwear, the Peep and Egg series, and the Baby Scientist series. Her newest books are Who Laid These Eggs?, a lift-the-flap book for the littlest naturalists; You're The Sprinkles on my Ice Cream, a board book celebrating the love between caregivers and children; and Saving Delicia, a picture book introducing the concept of seed banks. When she is not writing, you can find Laura hiking, reading, or eating ice cream. Visit her online at https://lauragehl.com/.

Tara J. Hannon is the author-illustrator of the early graphic novel series, Birtle (AMP Kids). Book one of the series, Birtle and the Purple Turtles released Jan 2024, and book two, Birtle and the (Very) Unwelcome Garry will be released May 2024. Tara is also the author-illustrator of the forthcoming chapter book series, The Only Ghost in Town (Penguin Workshop) coming in 2025. She has also illustrated the board books, Planes USA! (2020) & God is Wherever You Go (2021). 

Tara enjoys honest books, heavy with heart and humor. When not writing or illustrating she can be found being so uncool it’s almost cool, with her two daughters and husband or jogging. She can rarely be found sleeping and she is okay with that. 

Rebecca E. Hirsch is a scientist by training and the author of more than 90 books about science and nature for children. Her books have won many honors, including a Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award, a Green Earth Honor Award, and a Riverby Award for Nature Writing. You can find her in State College, Pennsylvania, writing books, growing gardens, and hiking in the woods with her dog. She is online at www.rebeccahirsch.com.  

Zara González Hoang is an obsessive scribbler, day-dreamer and doodler. She grew up in a house full of stories where imagination was encouraged and one could never be sure what was truth and what was fiction. She is the author and illustrator of A New Kind of Wild, inspired by the stories her dad told her about his childhood and has illustrated a bunch of picture books by other fabulous authors. She lives in a magical suburban forest in Northern Virginia with her Mad Man husband, human-shaped demons and a jungle of plants. 

Justina Ireland is the award winning and New York Times bestselling author of numerous books, including Dread Nation, Deathless Divide, Rust in the Root and Ophie’s Ghosts. Her Marvel comics work has featured a range of characters from Dead Pool to Misty Knight to Spider-Man and she is also the author of several Star Wars books and one of the story architects of Star Wars: The High Republic. In her spare time she writes for TV. You can find her work wherever great books are sold and you can find her on Instagram as @justina.ireland or at her website justinaireland.com.  

Adam Lehrhaupt is the award-winning picture book author of Warning: Do Not Open This Book!, Please: Open This Book! Chicken in Space (A six book HarperCollins series continuing with Chicken in School, I Will Not Eat You, I Don’t Draw, I Color , Wordplay, This is a Good Story, Idea Jar and several more he is not yet at liberty to discuss. He has traveled to six continents, performed on Broadway, and lived on a communal farm. Adam firmly believes that opening a book is a good thing, even if there are monkeys in it. He currently lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, with his wife, two sons, and two bizarre dogs. Follow Adam on Twitter, Instagram and Google+ @Lehrhaupt for the occasional brilliant thought or picture, and at adamlehrhaupt.com.  

Sanyukta Mathur is a social scientist who studies how to improve the health and wellbeing of young people around the world. She lives in Maryland with her family and a naughty cat. 

Jamar Nicholas is an award-winning, Philadelphia-based artist and educator, dedicating his career to helping young people realize the power of visual narrative. Jamar aims to promote anti-bullying, healing, and kindness in his work. 
Jamar's current project, partnering with Scholastic Graphix, "Leon the Extraordinary", is the first book in his series featuring Leon and his friends, Carlos and Clementine. Leon's next volume will be released in 2024. 

Courtney Pippin-Mathur grew up in East Texas but now lives close to D.C. with three kids and her husband and one slightly large and occasionally nervous rescue dog. 

She loves to write and draw and has illustrated or written (or both) five picture books (including two with her sister-in-law, Sanyukta). She also works at a bookstore, teaches classes online and plays with clay and paper machié. 

Anica Mrose Rissi is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for kids and teens, including picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA. Her most recent books are the spooky story collection Hide and Don't Seek: and Other Very Scary Stories and the middle grade novel Wishing Season, which is set on the Maine island where Anica grew up. She now lives in central New Jersey with her very good dog, Sweet Potato. Find out more at anicarissi.com. 

Jonathan Roth writes and illustrates the graphic novel series Rover and Speck (Kids Can Press, 2022+), the chapter book series Beep and Bob (Aladdin/S&S, 2018+) and the upcoming true story picture book Almost Underwear: How a Piece of Cloth Traveled from Kitty Hawk to the Moon and Mars (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2024). Though his books are often space-themed, he loves Earthly activities like hiking, canoeing and cycling. He lives in Rockville, MD and teaches elementary art. 

Dianne K Salerni  is the author of middle grade novels, including Junior Library Guild Selections Eleanor, Alice, & the Roosevelt Ghosts, Jadie in Five Dimensions, and The Carrefour Curse, as well as the state award nominated Eighth Day series. Dianne was a Pennsylvania public school teacher for 25 years before leaving the profession to spend time hanging around creepy cemeteries, attending ghost hunting classes, and climbing 2000 year-old pyramids in the name of book research. In her spare time, she volunteers at her local animal rescue shelter, walking dogs and serving the needs of the feline overlords. 

Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr (that’s us!) are author/illustrator, husband/wife creators of illustrated middle grade novels and picture books, including the Cookie Chronicles Series, the Real McCoys series, Sunrise Summer, and Everywhere, Wonder. We spend most of the year making books and raising kids in the hayloft of an old barn on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Each summer, we run an off-grid commercial salmon fishing operation on the Alaskan tundra. 
 
We and our four kids (and two dogs) spent the 2022-23 school year on the Busload of Books Tour—traveling in a 23-foot tiny home school bus, visiting Title I (high-need) elementary schools in all 50 states, distributing 150,000 free books and 25,000 “reading buddy” teddy bears (in partnership with First Book and Build-A-Bear Foundation), and facilitating a major research study (with Washington College). https://robbiandmatthew.com/  

Chiêu Anh Urban is an award-winning children's book author, illustrator, and book designer. She enjoys creating playful books that provide fun learning and exploration for the youngest readers. Her recent titles include Illusions in Art: Animals and Illusions in Art: Food, and novelty books 123 Zoom and ABC Roar. When Chiêu's not delving into novelty book projects, she's indulging in sweet confections and arts and crafts with her family.