Cristina Rhodes, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of English at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches courses on academic writing and ethnic literature. As a Latina and a scholar, much of her research centers on Latinx childhoods from multiple, intersecting perspectives. She studies children’s literature, film/television, ephemera, and other materials that engage Latinx youth and […]
Olivia Stephens is a graphic novelist, illustrator, and writer from the Pacific Northwest. She earned her B.F.A. in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2017. Stephens has created work for a number of sites and publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction. Stephens was a 2019-20 Literary Fellow […]
Lesléa (pronounced “Lez-LEE-uh”) Newman has created 80 books for readers of all ages, including the teen novel-in-verse October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard. Recent picture books include The Babka Sisters, The Fairest in the Land, I Can Be….ME!, Sparkle Boy, and Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story. Her classic story Heather Has Two Mommies, the first children’s book to portray lesbian families in […]
Julia L. Mickenberg, Ph.D., is professor of American studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of Learning from the Left: Children’s Literature, the Cold War, and Radical Politics in the United States, winner of the ChLA Book Award. She also coedited Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children’s Literature (2008) and The […]
After earning her M.A. in English, Frances Gilbert’s first job in publishing was as a book club editor at Scholastic Canada in Toronto. She moved to New York in 2000 to set up a children’s editorial division at Sterling Publishing, where she stayed until 2012. Gilbert then moved to Random House Children’s Books, where she […]
Rebekah Lowell is an author-illustrator and surface pattern designer with a passion for the natural world. As a survivor of domestic abuse, she’s found the natural world to be a peaceful healing ground. Her debut novel in verse, The Road to After, offers a story of healing from trauma, and her debut picture book, Catching Flight, provides hope […]
Chad W. Beckerman brings over 20 years of illustration and design experience to the CAT Agency. After studying illustration as an undergrad at RISD, Beckerman went on to be a designer at Scholastic, a senior designer at Greenwillow Books, and then became the creative director at ABRAMS Kids and Comic Arts, where he spent 13 years […]
Benbassat is an award-winning illustrator and painter based in Philadelphia. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2019, she has gone on to amass a range of clients in editorial, publishing, games, and animation. Her work delights in the eccentricities and wonders of the natural world, indulges in the fantastical, mixes narrative […]
As part of our Alumni Retreat, we will celebrate new book releases by our program alumni and faculty. A slideshow of all books published (or to be published) in 2024 will be presented with short talks by attending creators. The talk will be followed by a group book signing. Book Launch, Wednesday, June 26, 6:30 […]
Symposium Theme: VALUING What do we value in our field? How do we define value? This interdisciplinary symposium will reflect on what matters to us and examine the challenges that undermine such values as equity, inclusion, and access to books. We invite explorations of the theme in every sense of the word. This four-day symposium […]
Born in Kolkata, India, Perkins lived in Ghana, Cameroon, England, and Mexico before her parents settled in California when she was in middle school. She is the author of many award-winning picture books and novels for young readers, including Rickshaw Girl, which was adapted into a film. She’s also written a nonfiction book for adults […]
Award winning children’s book author and illustrator Matt Faulkner has over 35 books to his credit. His graphic novel Gaijin: American Prisoner of War, won the American Library Association Asian/Pacific Best Children’s Book Award. His most recent graphic novel, My Nest of Silence has won wide acclaim: “Deftly combining the personal and historical, Faulkner alchemizes […]