Ainara Alleyne is a 13-year-old elementary student from Hamilton Ontario. Ainara curates the Instagram page @ainarasbookshelf, where she highlights books for young people whose authors and main characters are Black, Indigenous, people of colour, differently abled and other underrepresented minorities. Ainara posts reviews, recommendations, and author interviews in an effort to share diverse stories with a broader audience. She believes that by experiencing other cultures and perspectives through books, we can not only acknowledge our differences but be able to understand and embrace them.

S. K. Ali is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of several books, including the Morris Award finalist Saints and Misfits and Love from A to Z, both named top ten YA titles of the year by various media including Entertainment Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. Her novel, Misfit in Love, was a People best book of summer 2021. She has several upcoming releases, including Love from Mecca to Medina, sequel to Love from A to Z. She lives in Toronto with her family, which includes a very vocal cat named Yeti and a very quiet cat named Mochi.

Dr. Soren Brothers is the Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. He is also an Assistant Professor at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. Soren’s research examines the effects of climate change on lakes, and how changes in lakes can influence their greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

Keah Brown is a journalist, author, studying actress and screenwriter. She is the recipient of Ulta Beauty’s Muse 100 award, Which is a celebration of 100 inspirational voices around beauty, she is one of The Root’s 100 most influential African Americans of 2018. Keah is the creator of the viral hashtag, #DisabledAndCute. Her work has appeared in Town & Country Magazine, Teen Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire UK, And The New York Times, among other publications. Her debut essay collection, The Pretty One, and picture book, Sam’s Super Seats, are out now.

Leonarda Carranza was born in El Salvador. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto. She is the author of the picture book, Abuelita & Me, and one of the editors of Tongues: On Longing and Belonging Through Language. She currently lives in Brampton, Ontario part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit.

Myriam Chery is a Québec-based illustrator. She graduated in Arts and Film Animation from Concordia University. She loves to illustrate colourful landscapes and adorable characters that highlight the happiness of childhood. She is the illustrator of Where Do Your Feelings Live? written by Catherine Hernandez.

Jillian Christmas is an artist, creative facilitator, curator, consultant, and advocate in the arts community. She is the long-time spoken word curator of the Vancouver Writers Fest, and former artistic director of Verses Festival of Words. Utilizing an anti-oppressive lens, Jillian has performed and facilitated workshops across North America. She is the author of The Gospel of Breaking, and the forthcoming children’s book, The Magic Shell. She lives on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam people (Vancouver, BC.)

Johnnie Christmas is a #1 New York Times Best Selling graphic novelist. He is the author of Swim Team. He’s also penned the sci-fi series Tartarus, the haunted romance CREMA, and the fantasy graphic novel Firebug. He’s currently hard at work on two more new middle-grade graphic novels for the HarperAlley imprint of HarperCollins. He’s also worked with celebrated writer Margaret Atwood on the series Angel Catbird and adapted William Gibson’s lost screenplay for Alien 3 into a critically acclaimed graphic novel. A graduate of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Johnnie now makes Vancouver, BC his home.

Matthew Dawkins is a Jamaican award-winning author and poet whose works on Wattpad have amassed nearly half a million reads. His work focuses on subjects from his personal experience such as adolescence, love, loss, culture, and mental health. Matthew attends Western University in London, Ontario where he pursues a BA in The School for Advanced Studies in Arts and Humanities and English Literature. When he's not writing, Matthew can often be found re-watching the Harry Potter series on Netflix for the millionth time and procrastinating his assignments. Until We Break is his debut novel set for release in Fall 2022. Matthew’s work has been published in Symposium, Semi-colon, and Uplifting Blackness: A Showcase of Art at Western University.

Guyanese-Canadian author Natasha Deen’s novel, In the Key of Nira Ghani, won the 2020 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award and her upcoming novel, The Signs and Wonders of Tuna Rashad, is a JLG Gold Standard Selection. When she’s not writing or visiting with schools and libraries, she teaches with the University of Toronto SCS and spends an inordinate amount of time trying to convince her pets that she’s the boss of the house. Visit Natasha at www.natashadeen.com.

Trynne Delaney is a writer currently based in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal).They were born on the west coast and raised on the east coast. A House Unsettled is their debut novel. In their spare time they like to garden.

Loridee De Villa is the author of the Watty Award-winning How to Be the Best Third Wheel, her debut novel that has accumulated 2.7 million reads on Wattpad. She also wrote The Infinite Worlds of Ella Jane, which won the Shaw Rocket Fund Contest in 2020 and is being turned into a theatrical podcast by the film company Shaftesbury. When she’s not typing up a new chapter, Loridee spends her days drawing, sewing, and watching cartoons, all while balancing courses at the University of Toronto. Loridee currently resides in Ontario, Canada and is pursuing a career in health sciences.

Sarah Everett is the author of several books for teens and a forthcoming middle-grade novel, The Probability of Everything. When she is not writing or reading, she is gearing up for her next travel adventure, dreaming about summer or playing with her dog. She lives in Alberta, Canada.

Joan Marie Galat is the international award-winning author of more than 25 books. Her newest middle grade title—Mortimer: Rat Race to Space—is about a journal-writing lab rat intent on using science and YouTube to prove his species is best suited to colonizing Mars. Joan’s STEM-themed books include Solve This! Wild and Wacky Challenges for the Genius Engineer in You and Dot to Dot in the Sky, Stories of the Aurora—a Crystal Kite Award winner. Writing from the Edmonton area, Joan works with two noisy budgies who won’t stay off her keyboard.

Aliya Ghare is a Toronto-based illustrator. She enjoys creating visually rich and magical imagery that explores social and political issues, human interest subjects, and fiction. Her illustrative work ranges from children's picture books to editorial, advertising, surface design, and more. She has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators New York, American Illustration, Adobe, the National Magazine Awards, Applied Arts, and 3x3 Magazine.

Alyssa Gray-Tyghter (she/her) is an educator, writer, speaker, and PhD student. For the last 10 years, she has taught a variety of subjects in a public middle school in Peel where she is now a guidance counsellor. In 2020, She began a series on Instagram (@AlyssaGTyghter) titled #HerstoricallySpeaking where she tackled Canadian Black History, Indigenous Stories, and other racialized communities in Canada. Her current research focuses of Black girlhood, identity, and belonging in Canada.

Hetxw'ms Gyetxw, also known as Brett D. Huson (he/him/his), is from the Gitxsan Nation of the Northwest Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Growing up in this strong matrilineal society, Brett developed a passion for his people's culture, land, and politics and a desire to share their knowledge and stories. Brett has worked in the film and television industry for over 16 years and is also a volunteer board member for such organizations as Ka Ni Kanichihk and sakihiwe Festival. The award-winning series Mothers of Xsan is Brett’s first series of books and part of a larger vision he has in sharing the worlds of the Gitxsan Nation. As Brett continues creating new projects, he is also working with the Prairie Climate Centre.

Lawrence Hill is the award-winning author of eleven books of fiction and nonfiction, including The Book of Negroes and The Illegal. In 2022, HarperCollins Canada published Hill’s latest novel Beatrice and Croc Harry. Hill has volunteered with Crossroads International, The Black Loyalist Heritage Society, and The Ontario Black History Society. A professor of creative writing at the University of Guelph, he also teaches and visits with book clubs in federal penitentiaries. Hill is writing new novel about the thousands of African-American soldiers who helped build the Alaska Highway in northern British Columbia and Yukon during World War Two.

Originally from Australia and Indonesia, Michelle Kadarusman’s home-base has been in Toronto since 2000. Her highly acclaimed middle-grade novels include The Theory of Hummingbirds, Girl of the Southern Sea and Music for Tigers. Her books have earned many nominations, including the Governor General's Literary Awards, USBBY Outstanding International books, Green Earth Book Awards and a Malka Penn Award for human rights in children’s literature. Her debut picture book, Room for More, was published in July 2022 and a new middle-grade novel, Berani, released in August 2022.

Jason Li (he/him) is an independent designer, artist and educator. His practice revolves around promulgating bottom-up narratives, exploring networked technology and helping people live safely on the internet. He is a co-author of the forthcoming The Hanmoji Handbook, and an editor at Paradise Systems.

Gaitrie Persaud-Dhumoon is one of Canada’s most accomplished ASL music Deaf performers and actresses. Gaitrie’s original ASL musical interpretations and acting performances are featured on social media, live-performances and music videos seen all over the world. Gaitrie can also be seen on Blue’s Clues as Camila, a Deaf librarian, and as an anchor for Sign1news. She is recently involved in CBC kids show.

Willie Poll is a Metis author from Sault Ste Marie, ON. She has been working in Indigenous education for the last 10+ years both as a teacher and for The Moose Hide Campaign, an organization aimed at ending violence against Indigenous women and children. She is the author of Together We Drum, Our Hearts Beat as One and has multiple books coming out in 2023!

Jael Richardson is the author of The Stone Thrower: A Daughter’s Lesson, a Father’s Life, a memoir based on her relationship with her father, CFL quarterback Chuck Ealey which was adapted into a children’s book in 2016. Her debut novel, Gutter Child is a dystopian story of courage and resilience and became an instant bestseller in January 2021. Her most recent title, Because You Are, is a touching picture book written as a letter to her younger self. Richardson lives in Brampton, Ontario where she founded and serves as the Executive Director for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD).

Liselle Sambury is the Trinidadian-Canadian author of the Governor General’s Literary Awards Finalist, Blood Like Magic. Her work spans multiple genres, from fantasy to sci-fi, horror, and more. In her free time, she shares helpful tips for upcoming writers and details of her publishing journey through a YouTube channel dedicated to demystifying the sometimes complicated business of being an author.

Emily Seo holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of British Columbia and worked in science publishing in Germany. Her experimentation with words resulted in The Science of Boys. She currently lives in Vancouver, BC, with her husband and two young scientists.

Pawan (Pav) Wander is a Middle Years Student Success Counselor for the Toronto District School and is entering her 16th year of teaching. Pav co-hosts an educational podcast called, “The Chey and Pav Show” and has co-authored a picture book called The Magnificent Microphone. Pav is a huge lover of reading and books, and encourages social Justice conversations through her reading with students in the classroom daily.

Marty Wilson is the cowriter of the picture book, Phoenix Gets Greater, along with her son, Phoenix. She is an art and drama secondary school teacher in Sudbury, Ontario.

Phoenix Wilson is 16 years old and the co-writer of Phoenix gets Greater, a story about Phoenix growing up as an Indigenous two-spirited youth. He is so grateful for the support of hi family, something he wish all two spirited youth could experience.

Joshua Whitehead is an Oji-nêhiyaw, Two-Spirit member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is the author of full-metal indigiqueer, Jonny Appleseed, and Making Love with the Land as well as the editor of Love after the End: an Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction. Currently, Whitehead teaches at the University of Calgary as an Assistant Professor of English and International Indigenous Studies.