Matt de la Peña is the New York Times Bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning author of seven young adult novels (including Mexican WhiteBoy, We Were Here, and Superman: Dawnbreaker) and six picture books (including Milo Imagines the World and Last Stop on Market Street). In 2016 he was awarded the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific where he attended school on a full basketball scholarship. In 2019 Matt was given an honorary doctorate from UOP. de la Peña currently lives in Southern California. He teaches creative writing and visits schools and colleges throughout the country.

Loren Long, a lifelong Midwesterner, grew up loving to draw and paint. His instantly recognizable and nostalgic style is grounded in American Regionalism, an art movement from the 1930s. After earning a BA from University of Kentucky and attending the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Loren began freelancing in editorial illustration, and his work appeared in such outlets as Time Magazine, Forbes, Atlantic Monthly, Reader's Digest, and Sports Illustrated. In 2003, Loren illustrated his first picture book, I Dream of Trains by Angela Johnson. He fell in love with visual storytelling for children, and he’s been making picture books ever since. His catalog of nearly 30 picture books includes titles by the singer Madonna (Mr. Peabody’s Apples), the writer Frank McCourt (Angela and the Baby Jesus), the inaugural poet Amanda Gorman (Change Sings), Newbery-award winner Matt de la Peña (Love and the forthcoming Home), and President Barack Obama (Of Thee I Sing), among others. He’s also written and illustrated his own stories, including the six titles in the bestselling Otis series, which was later adapted into an animated television series with Apple TV+, which he executive produced. His most recent book is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling The Yellow Bus. Thirteen of Loren’s books have appeared on the NYT bestseller list and a retrospective show of his work was mounted by the National Center of Children’s Illustrated Literature in 2021. Loren lives in Cincinnati, where he and his wife have raised two sons and four dogs, including their current rescue dog, Charlie. He serves on the board of literacy nonprofit Queen City Book Bank, whose headquarters feature a mural of his art.