“Fact or Cap: Friendship, Filters, and the Self-Love Revolution”: Kacen Callender, Crystal Maldonado, Mayra Cuevas & Marie Marquardt

Crystal Maldonado is an author of YA books. Her debut novel, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, is a New England Book Award winner, a Cosmopolitan Best New Book, and a POPSUGAR Best New YA Novel. She works in higher ed marketing by day and as a writer by night. Her work has been published in Latina, on BuzzFeed, and in The Hartford Courant. In No Filter and Other Lies (Holiday House), golden-haired Max Monroe has a picture-perfect existence: beauty, friends, and many followers. Except it’s all fake. “Max” is actually Kat Sanchez, a quiet and sarcastic 17-year-old living in drab Bakersfield, California. There’s nothing glamorous about her existence but she thrives as Max: doling out advice, sharing beautiful photos, networking with fans, even finding a gorgeous follower named Elena. But the closer Elena and “Max” get, the more Kat feels she has to keep up the façade. “Max” is the first time people have really listened to what Kat has to say – and after a lifetime of invisibility can she really give that up? But when one of Kat’s posts goes viral and reaches the girl in her photos, her real and fake worlds come crashing down around her.

Janey Tate is the founder and editor-in-chief of Hy-Lo News, short for hyperlocal news. Hy-Lo began in the spring of 2015 as an alternative news source for urban communities in South Florida; it aims to inform Miami-Dade and Broward residents about who’s from their community, who’s doing cool and exciting things, and what’s happening where they live, work, and play. Hy-Lo News tells the stories the mainstream media cannot and will not cover.

Kacen Callender was born and raised in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. He is the bestselling and award-winning author of the middle-grade novels Hurricane Child and King and the Dragonflies, the YA novels This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story and Felix Ever After, and the adult novel Queen of the Conquered and its forthcoming sequel, King of the Rising. Lark Winters, a title character of Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution (Amulet Books), wants to be a writer, and for now, that means posting on their social media accounts. When former best friend Kasim accidentally posts a thread on Lark’s Twitter declaring his love for a secret, unrequited crush, Lark decides to take the fall to protect Kasim. It seems like a great idea initially – but living a lie and the judgment of thousands of internet strangers takes a toll. Lark tries their best to be perfect at all costs, but nothing seems good enough for the anonymous hordes – or for Kasim, who is growing closer to Lark, just like it used to be between them. In the end, Lark must embrace their right to their messy emotions and learn how to be in love.

Marie Marquardt is the author of the YA novels Dream Things True, The Radius of Us, and Flight Season. She has also published articles and co-authored two nonfiction books about Latin American immigration to the U.S. South. Does My Body Offend You? (Knopf Books for Young Readers), co-authored with Mayra Cuevas, tells the story of Malena Rosario and Ruby McAllister. When Malena – a Puerto Rican girl stuck in Florida after Hurricane María destroyed her home – goes to school bra-less after a bad sunburn and is humiliated by the school administration into covering up, Ruby just can’t keep quiet about it. She’s a Seattle girl with a reputation as the school’s outspoken feminist. Malena and Ruby didn’t expect to be the leaders of a school rebellion, but that’s where they find themselves. Still, they’ll have to face their insecurities, biases, and privileges if they want to stand up for their ideals and – ultimately – themselves.

Mayra Cuevas is the Puerto Rican-born author of the YA novel Salty, Bitter, Sweet and her short story Resilient was included in the anthology Foreshadow. She is also a producer for CNN and co-founder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival. Does My Body Offend You? (Knopf Books for Young Readers), co-authored with Marie Marquardt, tells the story of Malena Rosario and Ruby McAllister. When Malena – a Puerto Rican girl stuck in Florida after Hurricane María destroyed her home – goes to school bra-less after a bad sunburn and is humiliated by the school administration into covering up, Ruby just can’t keep quiet about it. She’s a Seattle girl with a reputation as the school’s outspoken feminist. Malena and Ruby didn’t expect to be the leaders of a school rebellion, but that’s where they find themselves. Still, they’ll have to face their insecurities, biases, and privileges if they want to stand up for their ideals and – ultimately – themselves.