Featured Authors

Keynote Author

Aiden Thomas
Author of “Celestial Monsters”

New York Times-bestselling author Aiden Thomas returns to the beloved world of “The Sunbearer Trials” for a heart-stopping finale to his electric Mexican-inspired fantasy series. In “Celestial Monsters,” three young semidioses travel through a dark monster-infested world, facing down chaotic Obsidian gods, in a quest to save their friends and return the sun to the sky. Thomas is also the author of the beloved young adult novels “Cemetery Boys” and “Lost in the Never Woods.”

Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Author of “Games Untold: An Inheritance Games Collection”

Romance, luxury, and secrets abound in this thrilling new story collection that takes readers deeper into the world of the #1 bestselling Inheritance Games series. An amnesiac playboy and the woman with every reason to hate him. A daredevil, his favorite heiress, and three nights in Prague. Four brothers in a house of wonders that promises to always deliver one more secret. Discover their stories of love and loss, power, puzzles, and life-and-death secrets in this mind-blowingly romantic collection that proves that when you love the way Hawthornes love, there is no going back.

Alexandra Bracken
Author of “The Mirror of Beasts”

From the critically acclaimed author of “Lore” comes the second installment in a stunning contemporary fantasy inspired by Celtic legends. In “The Mirror of Beasts,” fresh betrayal ignites ancient magic to wake the dead. With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death’s plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. Legend tells of a “Mirror of Beasts,” powerful enough to trap even Lord Death in its accursed glass, but the mirror is not all that it seems. Tamsin must confront her own darkest secrets if she hopes to tap the mirror's strength to defeat her enemies.

Namina Forna
Author of “The Eternal Ones: The Gilded Ones #3”

Namina Forna presents the dazzling finale to the groundbreaking Gilded Ones series. One girl holds the power to defeat the gods—but can she become one? Mere weeks after confronting the Gilded Ones—the false beings she once believed to be her family—Deka is on the hunt. In order to kill the gods, whose ravenous competition for power is bleeding her world dry, she must uncover the source of her divinity. But with her mortal body on the verge of ruin, Deka is running out of time—to save herself and an empire that’s tearing itself apart at its seams.

Lamar Giles
Author of “Ruin Road”

Award-winning author Lamar Giles presents a riveting supernatural thriller. Cade Webster is a standout football star at the right school but lives in the wrong neighborhood—if you let his classmates tell it. Everywhere but home, people are afraid of him. Afraid he’s too big, too fast, too ambitious, too Black. An impulse purchase at a mysterious pawn shop changes everything when Cade tells the shopkeeper he wishes people would stop acting so scared around him, and the wish is granted. But it’s not just Cade that people no longer fear—it’s everything. Fearless acts of violence begin to escalate in both his neighborhood and at school. With the right moves, and brave friends, Cade might have one—and only one—chance to save all he loves.

Chloe Gong
Author of “Foul Heart Huntsman”

From the #1 bestselling author of “These Violent Delights” comes the captivating Foul Lady Fortune duology following an immortal assassin in 1930s Shanghai. Rosalind Lang has suffered the worst possible fate for a national spy: she’s been exposed. With a media storm camped outside her apartment, she’s barely left her bedroom in weeks, plotting her next course of action. The only way to leave the city and rescue her love Orion is under the guise of a national tour. It’s easy to convince her superiors that the countryside needs unity more than ever, and who better than an immortal girl to stir pride among the people? But the clock is ticking, and if Rosalind fails, it’s not only Orion she loses, but her nation itself.

Byron Graves
Author of “Rez Ball”

Debut author Byron Graves shares the high-stakes story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be.Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team—even though he can’t help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident. When Jaxon's former teammates offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. But stepping into his brother’s shoes as a star player means that Tre can’t mess up. Because if he can live up to Jaxon's dreams, their story isn’t over yet.

John Hendrix
Author of “The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein (A Graphic Novel)”

From award-winning creator John Hendrix comes a creative biography of two literary lions—C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien—following the remarkable story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks. Through narrative and comic panels, Hendrix chronicles the shared story of their friendship, in all its ups and downs–and how their camaraderie inspired the most groundbreaking works of the fantasy genre.

Tiffany D. Jackson
Author of “Storm: Dawn of a Goddess”

Award-winning author of YA novels “The Weight of Blood” and “Monday’s Not Coming,” Tiffany D. Jackson presents an epic origin story for Marvel’s X-Men superhero Storm. As a thief on the streets of Cairo, Ororo Munroe is an expert at blending in—keeping her blue eyes low and her white hair beneath a scarf. Stealth is her specialty–especially since strange things happen when she loses control. Lately, Ororo has been losing control more often, setting off sudden rainstorms and mysterious winds. When she is forced to run from the Shadow King, a villain who steals people's souls, she has nowhere to turn to but herself. 

Makiia Lucier
Author of “Dragonfruit”

Acclaimed author Makiia Lucier presents a dazzling, romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology. Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.

F. T. Lukens
Author of “Otherworldly” 

Bestselling author of YA speculative fiction, F. T. Lukens’ romantic fantasy “Otherworldly” features the same magnetic connection of swoony and sorcery elements that made readers fall in love with their novels “Spell Bound” and “So This is Ever After.” In “Otherworldly,” a skeptic and a supernatural being make a crossroads deal to achieve their own ends. But once their bargain is struck, there’s no backing out, and the growing connection between the two might just change both their worlds.

Samantha Markum
Author of “Love, Off the Record”

St. Louis-based YA author Samantha Markum presents a smart, teen rom-com about two rival journalism students competing for the same position on their university newspaper. Being freshmen staffers puts Wyn and Three at the bottom of the pecking order—until a rare reporter spot opens up. Wyn and Three are both determined to get the position, starting a game of sabotage that pushes them to do their worst, from stealing each other’s ideas to playing twisted mind games. When Three breaks a story that’s closer to home than he or Wyn expects, the two must put aside their differences to expose the truth—and face their real feelings for each other.

Trinity Nguyen
Author of “A Bánh Mì for Two”

In this sweet romance about two foodies in love, Vivi meets Lan while studying abroad in Vietnam, and they spend the semester unraveling their families' histories. In Sài Gòn, Lan is always trying to be the perfect daughter, dependable and willing to care for her widowed mother and their bánh mì stall. Meanwhile, Vietnamese American Vivi’s parents rarely even talk about their homeland. When Vivi and Lan meet in Sài Gòn, Lan shows Vivi around the city, helping her piece together her mother’s story. And slowly, as they explore the city and their pasts, Vivi and Lan fall in love.

Molly Knox Ostertag
Author of “The Deep Dark: A Graphic Novel”

From Molly Knox Ostertag, writer-illustrator of the bestselling “The Witch Boy” trilogy, comes a darkly beautiful story of identity, family, love, loss, and magic. Magdalena is about to graduate high school, but she already feels like an adult with serious responsibilities. And then there’s her secret, which pulls her into the basement each night. A secret that could hurt and even kill if it ever got out. So Mags keeps her head down–that is, until her childhood friend Nessa comes back to town, bringing vivid memories of the past, an intoxicating glimpse of the future, and a secret of her own. But when the darkness starts to close in on them both, Mags will have to drag her secret into the daylight, and choose between risking everything... or having nothing left to lose.

Rachel Lynn Solomon
Author of “Past Present Future”

The author of bestselling romantic comedies for teens and adults, Rachel Lynn Solomon shares her latest YA romance–a sequel to her beloved novel “Today Tomorrow Tonight.” When longtime rivals Rowan and Neil confessed their feelings on the last day of senior year, they knew they’d only have a couple months together before they left for college. Now summer is over, and they’re determined to make their relationship work as they begin school in different places. Over a year of late-night phone calls and weekend visits, Rowan and Neil grapple with the uncertainty of their new lives. They’ve spent so many years at odds with each other—now that they’re finally on the same team, what does the future hold for them?

Andrew Joseph White
Author of “Compound Fracture”

An instant bestseller, award-winning author Andrew Joseph White’s queer Appalachian thriller pulls no punches. On the night Miles Abernathy comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, carrying evidence that may finally end a blood feud plaguing his community. With photos that prove the county’s Sheriff was responsible for the death of his father and others, Miles fights to end the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them. But when he becomes the feud’s latest victim and ends up in the hospital, he is visited by the ghost of a soot-covered man and learns of other families willing to put everything on the line to break from a cycle of cruelty.

LaDarrion Williams
Author of “Blood at the Root” 

The first novel in a heart-pounding fantasy series, “Blood at the Root” is about a teenager on the run from his past who discovers he has uncontrollable powers. Ten years ago, Malik’s life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished. Now, at 17, a daring act reveals Malik’s connection to a long-lost grandmother: a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university. Joining the school community he never knew he needed, Malik must search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother.