Meet debut picture book, middle grade and young adult authors and illustrators as they share their publication and writing journeys, what they’ve learned along the way, and practical tips for aspiring writers on working with agents and editors. Bring any writing or publication questions you have!
_________________

MEG EDEN KUYATT teaches creative writing at colleges and writing centers. She is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection “Drowning in the Floating World” and children’s novels, most recently “Good Different,” a JLG Gold Standard selection (Scholastic, 2023). Find her online at megedenbooks.com.

J.P. TAKAHASHI is the author of TOKYO NIGHT PARADE (HarperCollins/Tegen, 2023) and a literary agent by day. She's the Director of Special Projects at POC in Publishing, and previously worked in editorial at Scholastic/AALB and Levine Querido while attending NYU and the City University of New York. Her next book releases in 2025.

CHARLENE THOMAS is a young adult author from Montgomery County, MD. She received a minor in Creative Writing from North Carolina State University and her MBA from Emory University. When she was sixteen years old, she wrote a manuscript that received the National Novel Silver Award from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Her debut novel, SETON GIRLS, released in August 2022, and her sophomore novel, PEEKABOO, releases in 2024.