Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author of numerous award-winning children’s and young adult books including Love in the Library, The Mermaid and the Witch and The Sea duology, and The Worst Ronin. She has been called “... one of the most unflinching voices in contemporary literature,” and is a founding member and national leader of Authors Against Book Bans. 
 

Yas Imamura is a children’s book illustrator who is best known for Love in the Library and Can You Imagine?, books that have received critical acclaim and awards, along with other titles that explore resilience, tenderness, and everyday magic. Her warm, expressive artwork brings a sense of tenderness and wonder to the page and resonates across cultures and generations.

Mia Wenjen is the author of Barbed Wire Between Us, a powerful reverso poem and a moving meditation on justice, memory, and the echoes of history that still shape our present. She blogs on parenting, children’s books, and education at PragmaticMom.com and is the co-creator of Read Your World, a nonprofit celebrating diversity in children’s books.

Jolene Gutiérrez and Minoru “Min” Tonai coauthored Unbreakable, a moving picture book that is based on Tonai's harrowing real-life camp experiences. Gutiérrez is an award-winning neurodivergent teacher librarian at the Denver Academy since 1995. She hopes her books will help young readers feel seen and inspire others to learn and grow in compassion. She is an active member of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and winner of the 2025 Crystal Kite Award for the Southwest Region. 

Chris Sasaki  s an Emmy and Annie Award–winning animation artist with a rich career spanning high-profile studios and collaborations, and a celebrated figure in the literary world. Known for their captivating picture books, they are the illustrator of Unbreakable. Their achievements in the literary arena have earned them the prestigious Dilys Evans Founders Award from the Society of Illustrators.

Korey is a Sansei born and raised in Los Angeles and is the author of Kimi the Ballerina. She played basketball for a Japanese American league, graduated from the University of California, Riverside, and studied at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. Korey has worked in the animation and fashion industries for companies such as Disney and the Gap. 

Mike Wu is the illustrator of Kimi the Ballerina. He has worked for Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, where he animated on the Oscar-winning The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up, Toy Story 3, Coco, and Soul, among other films. His first picture book, Ellie, was selected as one of NPR’s best books of 2015, and it was followed by Ellie in Concert and Ellie Makes a Friend. Ellie Makes a Friend, is inspired by his Chinese roots and focuses on the importance of accepting differences in others.

Stan Sakai was born in Kyoto, Japan, grew up in Hawai‘i, and currently lives in California. His creation, Usagi Yojimbo, first appeared in 1984, and has since appeared on television, as toys, on clothing, in comics, and in a series of trade paperback collections. He and his wife, Julie Sakai, collaborated on their book, Chibi Usagi: Attack of the Heebie Chibis.

Julie Sakai is an illustrator, artist, designer, and creator. While raising a family, she taught art in private schools, community classes, and at the Monart School of Art in Temecula, California. Her Chibi-style work has been sold in museum gift shops, boutiques, and craft fairs throughout the United States. She and her husband, Stan Sakai, collaborated on their book, Chibi Usagi: Attack of the Heebie Chibis.