National Book Foundation Presents: Teen Press Conference

Derrick Barnes is the author of the picture book Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, which received a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers. He is also the creator of the New York Times bestselling companion picture books, The King of Kindergarten and The Queen of Kindergarten, and co-wrote the graphic novel Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist For Justice (Norton Young Readers) with former Olympic track-and-field gold medalist Tommie Smith, illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. The book revisits the events on October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics. Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans. It's a stirring portrait of an iconic moment in Olympic history that still resonates today.

Isaac Blum is a writer and educator. He’s taught English at several colleges and universities and Orthodox Jewish and public schools. The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen (Philomel Books) is his debut novel. Hoodie Rosen’s life isn’t that bad. Sure, his entire Orthodox Jewish community has just picked up and moved to the quiet, mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron, but Hoodie’s world hasn’t changed that much. He’s got basketball to play, studies to avoid, and a supermarket full of delicious kosher snacks to eat. The people of Tregaron aren’t happy that so many Orthodox Jews are moving in, but that’s not Hoodie’s problem. That is, until he meets and falls for Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary – who happens to be the daughter of the obstinate mayor trying to keep Hoodie’s community out of the town. And things only get more complicated when a series of antisemitic crimes hit Tregaron, and they quickly escalate to deadly violence. Suddenly, Hoodie’s community turns on him for siding with the enemy, and he finds himself caught between his first love and the only world he’s ever known.

Johnnie Christmas is a #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novelist. Best known for co-creating the Angel Catbird series with celebrated writer Margaret Atwood, he has adapted William Gibson’s lost screenplay for Alien 3 into a critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same name. He also co-created the series Sheltered. In his contemporary middle grade graphic novel Swim Team (HarperAlley), we meet Bree. She couldn’t wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees – but now she’s stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, but she’s forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and a former swim team captain, is willing to help. With Etta’s training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the school’s failing team around. Can Bree defy the odds and guide her team to a state championship, or have the Mighty Manatees swum their last lap?

Lisa Yee’s debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Her other novels for young people include Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, So Totally Emily Ebers, Absolutely Maybe, and two books about a fourth grader, Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) and Bobby the Brave (Sometimes). In Maizy Chen’s Last Chance (Random House Books for Young Readers), Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota, but now her mom plans to visit and stay for a couple of weeks until her grandfather gets better. Then plans change, and as Maizy spends more time at the Golden Palace – the restaurant that has been in her family for generations – she makes some discoveries. The place has secrets! And the more Maizy discovers, the more questions she has. Why are her mom and her grandmother always fighting? Who are the people in the photographs on the office wall? And when she discovers that a beloved family treasure has gone missing – and a racist note – Maizy decides it’s time to find the answers. This is a novel that celebrates food, fortune, and family.

Pablo Cartaya is an author, screenwriter, speaker, and occasional actor. He wrote The Epic Fail for Arturo Zamora; Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish; and Each Tiny Spark. In The Last Beekeeper (HarperCollins), Cartaya writes about a world facing destruction by climate change and those who profit from it. Bees are central to a rebuilding world, and Yolanda Cicerón, a girl who knows that nature is something to be feared, will fight to save the last known beehive from extinction. Life in the Valley is brutal and harsh, and Yoly dreams of leaving her farm to live in Silo, the most advanced town for miles around. But before she can do that, Yoly must prove she belongs in a place that only welcomes the smartest and most useful. She’s well on her way until she discovers that her family can no longer afford her schooling. Forced to take matters into her own hands, the closer she gets to securing her future, the more she uncovers the dangers inside Silo’s walls, dangers that threaten the entire Valley. As she cracks open long-guarded secrets, Yoly finds herself in grave peril, and the only chance of surviving may lie in rediscovering a long-extinct species – the honeybee.

Sherri Winston is the author of President of the Whole Fifth Grade, President of the Whole Sixth Grade, President of the Whole Sixth Grade: Girl Code, The Sweetest Sound, Jada Sly: Artist & Spy, and The Kayla Chronicles. Before she was an author, Winston was a newspaper writer and columnist. In Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution (Bloomsbury Children’s Books), Lotus just wants to express herself – with her violin, her retro style, and her fabulous hair. This school year, she’s taking her talent and spirit to the seventh grade at a new school of the arts. But her best friend, Rebel, thinks Lotus should stay put – Why should the fancy new school get all the funding and take the brightest kids? Rebel wants Lotus to help her protest, but Lotus isn’t sure. But later on, when Lotus finds herself in trouble for a dress code violation, she must choose between staying quiet and risking her beloved hair or fighting back. Inspired by real stories of Black girls fighting dress codes that discriminate against their hair and culture, Lotus Bloom introduces a memorable character who speaks up for what’s right, no matter what it takes.

Sonora Reyes is a queer second-generation immigrant who attended a Catholic high school. They write fiction full of queer and Latinx characters in various genres, and are the creator and host of #QPOCChat, a monthly community-building Twitter chat for queer writers of color. In The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School (Balzer + Bray), 16-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here, no one knows she’s gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way. After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don’t fall in love. Granted, she’s never been great at any of those things, but that’s a problem for Future Yami. The thing is, it’s hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. So cute. Either way, Yami isn’t going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she’ll have to start asking, WWASGD: What would a straight girl do? By turns hilarious, vulnerable, and searingly honest, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School explores the joys and heartaches of living your whole truth out loud.

Tommie Smith is a former Olympic track-and-field gold medalist. He held the world record for the 200-meter dash with turn (1966–71) and the straightaway 200-meter dash (1965–79). Smith’s autobiography, Silent Gesture – co-written with David Steele – was published in 2007. Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice (Norton Young Readers), Smith’s first-ever memoir for young readers, was co-written with Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Honor recipient Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Emmy Award-winning artist Dawud Anyabwile. The book revisits the events on October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics. Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans. Both men were forced to leave the Olympics, received death threats, and faced ostracism and continuing economic hardships. In Victory. Stand! Smith reflects on his childhood growing up in rural Texas through his stellar athletic career, culminating in his historic victory and Olympic podium protest. It’s a stirring portrait of an iconic moment in Olympic history that still resonates today.

Traci Chee is the New York Times bestselling author of The Reader trilogy and her YA novel in stories We Are Not Free, a National Book Award finalist which also earned the Printz Honor and the Walter Honor. A Thousand Steps Into Night (Clarion Books) is set in the realm of Awara, a place where gods, monsters, and humans coexist side by side. Miuko is an ordinary girl resigned to a safe, if uneventful, existence as an innkeeper’s daughter. Until she is cursed and begins to transform into a demon with a deadly touch, and embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her everyday life. Aided by a thieving magpie spirit and continuously thwarted by a demon prince, Miuko must outfox tricksters, escape demon hunters, and negotiate with feral gods if she wants to make it home again. Yet with her transformation comes power and a freedom she never dreamed of, pushing her to weigh whether saving her soul is worth returning to an ordinary life that no longer fits her – and perhaps never did.