Pam Bachorz is the author of “Candor” and “Drought”, young adult novels published by Egmont USA. Bachorz grew up in a small town in the Adirondack foothills, and draws inspiration from the places she knows best: she wrote “Candor” while living in a planned community in Florida, and set “Drought” in the woods where she spent her childhood summers. Currently she is working on a novel set in middle Appalachia. She resides in Silver Spring with her husband and son.

Sheela Chari is the author of the middle-grade novel, “Vanished” (Disney Hyperion), a 2012 APALA Children’s Literature Honor Book, and Edgar nominee for Best Juvenile mystery. Sheela has an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, and lives in New York with her family. “Vanished” is her first novel.

Dr. Jill Chasse is an author, health administrator, pregnancy counselor and perinatal psychology consultant. Jill has worked in perinatal wellness and public health for over 15 years and has written several books including “Baby Magic,” which has sold in 8 countries, “Womb Wonders,” “The Babysitter’s Survival Guide,“ and her popular children’s book, “Mommy’s Lap.”  She is the founder of Baby-Empowered Birth Education (BEBE). Jill lives with her husband and two young children in Brookeville, MD.

Jay Clark is the author of “The Edumacation of Jay Baker” (Henry Holt & Co.), his debut novel for young adults.

“Jay’s smarts, originality, and warmth make the old teen trope of the hot girl(s) falling for the doofus guy actually believable.”–Booklist, Starred Review

Clark is a tennis enthusiast and former teaching pro, whose writing has appeared in the Washington Post and Tennis Magazine.   He lives in Virginia with his fiancé, Caroline Baker.

Mary Downing Hahn has been writing children’s books for over thirty years and is a perennial favorite with readers. Her books have sold more than 2 million copies and consistently win state children’s choice awards. Mary’s work spans a variety of genres, but she is best known for her ghost stories and mysteries. 

Beginning with “Wait Till Helen Comes,” now a classic that has been in print, selling steadily, for over twenty years, Ms. Hahn has created an oeuvre of well-loved spine-chilling tales including “The Doll in the Garden,” “A Time for Andrew,” and “The Old Willis Place.” Always spooky, but never overly frightening, Mary “has mastered the art of the not-too-creepy ghost story” (Kirkus Reviews). “Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls” (Clarion Books), her latest book, will be released in April.

Laura Rhoton McNeal is the author of “Dark Water” (Knopf Books for Young Readers), a 2010 finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the San Diego Book Award in young people’s literature.  She holds an MA in fiction writing from Syracuse University and is the author, with her husband Tom, of four young adult novels published by Knopf: “Crooked” (winner of the California Book Award in Juvenile Literature), “Zipped” (winner of the Pen Center USA Literary Award in Children’s Literature), “Crushed”, and “The Decoding of Lana Morris”.  She and Tom live with their sons Sam and Hank near San Diego.

Matthew Quick (aka Q) is the author of “The Silver Linings Playbook” (Sarah Crichton Books / Farrar, Straus & Giroux) and two young adult novels, “Sorta Like a Rock Star” and “Boy21″ (Little, Brown & Co). His work has received many honors—including a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention—and has been translated into several languages. The Weinstein Company and David O. Russell have adapted “The Silver Linings Playbook”, starring Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence. Matthew lives in Massachusetts with his wife, novelist Alicia Bessette.

Michelle Ray is an MCPS teacher and the debut author of “Falling for Hamlet” (Little, Brown/Poppy).

“Not at all dull . . . it’s filled with the pageantry and royalty that so many [teens] have discovered in the William and Kate romance. It also has the kind of unfamiliar setting and code of behavior that has drawn them to books like those of the Hunger Games series.” – NY Times

John ‘Corey’ Whaley grew up in the small town of Springhill, Louisiana, where he learned to be sarcastic and to tell stories.  His debut novel, “Where Things Come Back” (Atheneum Books for Young Readers), was chosen as the 2012 winner of both the Michael L. Printz Award and the William C. Morris Award. Corey was also selected by National Book Award Fiction winner Oscar Hijuelos as one of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35″ authors for 2011–the first YA novelist ever to be chosen for this honor. He was also spotlighted as a “Flying Starts” pick in Publishers Weekly, and “Where Things Come Back” was chosen as a “Best Books of 2011″ in the Children’s Fiction category by Publishers Weekly.

He has a B.A. in English from Louisiana Tech University, as well as an M.A in Secondary English Education. He started writing stories about aliens and underwater civilizations when he was around ten or eleven, but now writes realistic YA fiction (which sometimes includes zombies…). He taught public school for five years and spent much of that time daydreaming about being a full-time writer…and dodging his students’ crafty projectiles. He is terrible at most sports, but is an avid kayaker and bongo player.  He is obsessed with movies, music, and traveling to new places. He is an incredibly picky eater and has never been punched in the face, though he has come quite close.  His favorite word is defenestration, which is the inspiration for his second book.