Young Adult Novelist Convention (YANovCon) 2023

Charlie Jane Anders, opens a new window is the author of the Unstoppable trilogy: the first two books, Victories Greater Than Death and Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak, are out now, and the final book, Promises Stronger Than Darkness, comes out April 11, 2023. These books will soon be a television series available on Amazon Prime. She's also the author of the short story collection Even Greater Mistakes, and Never Say You Can't Survive, a book about how to use creative writing to get through hard times. Her other books include The City in the Middle of the Night and All the Birds in the Sky.  

James Brandon, opens a new window is an author, actor, and producer. Before writing, he produced and played the central role of Joshua in Terrence McNally's play Corpus Christi, traveling the world to international acclaim for nearly a decade. He is co-founder of The I AM Love Campaign, an art-based initiative bridging the faith-based and LGBTQ+ communities and serves on the Board of the Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits in San Francisco. He is the author of the bestselling YA novel Ziggy, Stardust & Me (named Summer 2019 Entertainment Weekly Best Book, Summer 2019 Refinery29 Best Book, Summer 2019 Seventeen Magazine Best YA Book, 2019 Book Riot Must-Read Book) and The Edge of Being.  

Ernesto Cisneros, opens a new window is the nationally acclaimed author of Efrén Divided and Falling Short. He was born and raised in Santa Ana, California, where he still teaches.  As an author, he believes in providing today’s youth with an honest depiction of characters with whom they can identify. He won the prestigious Pura Belpré Medal (2020), the Golden Poppy Award for Middle Grades (2021), two International Latino Book Awards, as well as an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award (2021) for Efrén Divided. Falling Short has already won two International Latino Book Awards and has appeared on numerous "Best of 2022" Lists.

Philippe Diederich, opens a new window is a multi-cultural writer, author of the young adult novels Diamond Park and Playing for the Devil’s Fire, which was named the 2017 Best Young Adult novel by the Texas Institute of Letters and 2017 Young Adult Library Services Association Best Fiction for Young Adults. His writing has been profiled in NPR, NBC, the Huffington Post, Latinopia Word and received a number of awards, including the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship. His middle grade novel Lalo Lesperance Never Forgot is forthcoming in the fall of 2023. 

Alexa Donne, opens a new window is the author of young adult thrillers The Ivies and Pretty Dead Queens, as well as the YA sci-fi romance retellings Brightly Burning and The Stars We Steal. A graduate of Boston University, she works in TV marketing and is a long-standing mentor with the non-profit WriteGirl. Additionally, she runs one of the most popular writing advice channels on YouTube. Her next YA thriller, The Bitter End, will be published in 2024. She lives in Los Angeles, and you can find her in most places @alexadonne.

Sally Engelfried, opens a new window is an author and a children’s librarian. Her debut novel Learning to Fall is a Junior Library Guild selection and a Common Sense Media Selection for Families. She lives in a converted warehouse in Oakland, California.

Bill Konigsberg, opens a new window is the award-winning author of seven young adult novels, including Openly Straight, The Music of What Happens, The Porcupine of Truth, and Destination Unknown. He has won the Stonewall Book Award, Lambda Literary award, Sid Fleishman Award for Humor, and PEN Center USA Literary Award, among others. In 2018, the National Council of Teachers of English’s Assembly on Literature for Adolescents created the Bill Konigsberg Award for Acts and Activism for Equity and Inclusion through Young Adult Literature. Prior to turning his attention to writing books for teens, Bill was a sportswriter and editor for The Associated Press and ESPN.com. He lives in Phoenix with his husband, Chuck.

Sarah Kuhn, opens a new window is the author of the beloved YA rom-coms I Love You So Mochi and From Little Tokyo, With Love, as well as the popular adult fantasy series Heroine Complex. She has penned a wide variety of comics and prose, including the YA graphic novel Shadow of the Batgirl for DC Comics and the Star Wars audiobook original Doctor Aphra. Her next project is Girl Taking Over, a YA graphic novel featuring a teenage Asian American Lois Lane, out in 2023. Her books have been Junior Library Guild Selections and nominees for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, the RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and the Golden Poppy Award. They have also been featured on Best of… lists in People Magazine, Barnes & Noble’s Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Book Riot, Amazon, the AV Club, Nerdist, and more. Additionally, Sarah was a finalist for both the CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) New Writers Award, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. A third generation Japanese American, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and an overflowing closet of vintage treasures.

Naz Kutub, opens a new window was born and raised in Singapore, and currently lives in Los Angeles with his partner Benson, and his two furry garbage collectors – Alex and Raffe. He will forever be grateful to fried chicken for being a primary motivator in his early years, and for preventing him from becoming a fitness model, because writing is much more fulfilling. ​

Mae Respicio, opens a new window writes middle grade novels full of hope, humor, and heart, all inspired by her Filipino American heritage. The House That Lou Built won the Asian/Pacific American Libraries Association Honor Award and was an NPR Best Book of the Year, and her books Any Day With You and How To Win a Slime War have appeared on many “best books” and state reading lists. Mae’s forthcoming novel-in-verse is called Isabel in Bloom.   ​

Lilliam Rivera, opens a new window is an award-winning writer and author of young adult and middle grade novels, most recently the young adult science fiction novel We Light Up the Sky and the graphic novel Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story (DC Comics, 2021), both named “Best Books of 2021” by Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal. Her previous YA novels include Never Look Back, which BookPage called “a revelation” in a starred review; the middle grade novel Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit, which Kirkus praised as a “winner of a series opener;” Dealing in Dreams, which was featured in Teen Vogue, PBS Books, Los Angeles Times, and Bustle, among other outlets, and has received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist; and The Education of Margot Sanchez, which was nominated for a 2017 Best Fiction for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association and was featured on NPR, New York Times Book Review, New York magazine, MTV.com, and Teen Vogue, among others. Rivera’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Elle, Tin House, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, to name a few.

Sara Saedi, opens a new window is an Iranian-American author and Film/TV writer living in Los Angeles. Her books include the Never Ever series, Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card, and I Miss You, I Hate This. She has written on many TV shows, including iZombie, Katy Keene, and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. Americanized was named New York Public Library Best Book of the Year, Chicago Public Library Best of the Best, and School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

(Panel Moderator) Lisa Moore Ramée was born and raised in Los Angeles and now lives in Northern California, with her husband, kids, one obnoxious cat, and a sweet dog. A Good Kind of Trouble, her debut novel, received three-starred reviews, was a Walter Dean Meyers Honor book and Indie bestseller. Something to Say also garnered three-starred reviews and was an Indie Next pick. Her latest novel, Mapmaker, opens a new window, a middle-grade fantasy, was out on September 20, 2022.