LJ-Baptiste (he/him): LJ-Baptiste is an art educator and cartoonist from Boston. He has collaborated with media giants such as Google, Hasbro, and PBS to produce essential works of art. He is best known for his ongoing comic book series, COMIXSCAPE, which features the adventures of a bright-eyed, perpetually preteen boy and his raccoon sidekick. Whether it’s work in animation, graphic apparel designs, or COMIXSCAPE, LJ’s art can be described as distinctive, masterful, and captivating. When it comes to visual communication, LJ prioritizes authenticity, details, and positive messages.

Alondra Bobadilla (she/her): Alondra Bobadilla was named Boston’s first-ever Youth Poet Laureate in January of 2020. Through her own work, she demonstrates how creative expression can be a powerful tool for youth to examine feelings around issues, find their voice, and speak up about the changes they want to see for their future. She is the author of a collection of poems entitled “With Clipped Wings.”

Karilyn Crockett, PhD (she/her): Dr. Karilyn Crockett’s research focuses on large-scale land use changes in twentieth century American cities and examines the social and geographic implications of structural poverty and racial formations. Karilyn’s book “People before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a New Movement for City Making” (UMASS Press 2018) investigates a 1960s era grassroots movement to halt urban extension of the U.S. interstate highway system and the geographic and political changes in Boston that resulted. In 2019 this book was named one of the “ten best books of the decade” by the Boston Public Library Association of Librarians. Karilyn holds a PhD from the American Studies program at Yale University, a Master of Science in Geography from the London School of Economics, and a Master of Arts and Religion from Yale Divinity School. She holds a faculty appointment as professor of urban history, public policy and planning in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning. She is currently leading the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce in a partnership with the Boston Federal Reserve Bank to revisit the 2015 “Color of Wealth” report on closing the racial wealth gap.

Sara Farizan (she/her): Sara Farizan is an Iranian American writer, avid culture vulture, and ardent basketball fan who was born in and lives near Boston. The award-winning author of If You Could Be Mine and Here to Stay, she has an MFA from Lesley University and a BA in film and media studies from American University. Dead Flip is her fourth novel.

Valerie Foxx (she/her): Valerie Link-Foxx is president of Butterfly Foxx Productions, host of Phenomenally Speaking, (a blog-talk radio show); and Amazon’s #1 Best Selling Author. Her publications include her memoir, Love Lives On! Life Before and After Death Came “A Knockin,” The Unfinished Book: A Glimpse Into My Mother’s Incredible Life’s Journey, and Our Love Story: Our Life’s Journey. These books focus on personal tragedies, triumphs, and the power of love, faith, and family. In her fourth book, Merissa’s Sea-cret Powers (fiction), an African American girl dreams about finding her father. She discovers that she has Sea-cret powers and uncovers hidden family secrets. This book is a collaborative effort with her granddaughters and great-niece—a multi-generational project. Her books have been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX.

Katalina Gamarra (she/her): Katalina Gamarra earned a BA in English from Drew University, where she received accolades for both creative writing and academic prowess, as well as an award in Shakespeare Study. Before becoming an author, she worked in bookselling and literary scouting. She lives in Boston with her husband, cat, and dog.

Sarah Khalil (she/her): Sarah Khalil is a literary agent at the Boston-based literary agency Kneerim & Williams, representing serious narrative nonfiction and fiction with an eye towards social, economic, and environmental justice; pop/cultural criticism and histories; cross-cultural narratives; and writing from Caribbean, MENA, Muslim, and LGBTQIA+ creators; all deeply explored by experts—academics, journalists, and those with lived experiences and something important to say about them. Big ideas, radical thought, and propulsive writing are the cornerstones of her taste. Sarah joined the agency in 2019 while pursuing her master’s degree in Publishing & Writing at Emerson College.

Michael Liu (he/him): Michael Liu is a native of Boston Chinatown. He has been active on social justice and community issues throughout his adult life in the Boston area, especially concerning Chinatown. He was a founding member of numerous community social justice groups including the Chinese Progressive Association Boston, API Movement, and the Boston Rainbow Coalition. In the 1990’s, he was executive director of the Asian American Resource Workshop. He is currently active with the Activist Training Institute, working with young organizers. He received his Ph.D. in Public Policy at University of Massachusetts Boston and worked as a researcher for two decades at the Institute for Asian American Studies at UMB, authoring and co-authoring many studies on local Asian American communities until his retirement. He co-authored an interpretive history of Asian American organizing, The Snake Dance of Asian American Activism, and recently authored the first book-length history of Boston Chinatown, Forever Struggle.

Glynnette Byrom Scott (she/her): Glynnette Scott was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Connecticut and a Masters Degree in Education from Northeastern University. She is a retired speech and language pathologist from the Boston Public Schools. She is the author of her first published book, in which she shares her account as an eleven year old, of marching with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the only march he led in the Northeast. In her retired life, Glynnette enjoys spending time with her four grandchildren, traveling, crafting and serving at her local church. She and her husband, Richard are parents of two adult children and reside in Boston, MA with their rescue dog.

Ray Anthony Shepard (he/him): Ray writes biographies for his grandchildren’s generations. After retiring from educational publishing, he launched an encore career: writing for young readers about Black lives—true stories that show the many ways people stood up to racial oppression and its flawed assumption of a human, colored-coded hierarchy. Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge, a picture book biography, was named this year’s Jane Addams Peace Association Honor Book. His dual biography, Now or Never! 54th Massachusetts Infantry’s War to End Slavery, was a Carter J. Woodson Honor Book and named a Must Read by the Massachusetts Center for the Book.

Candelaria Norma Silva: Candelaria Norma Silva writes children’s stories that are meant to be read aloud. They are inspired by the large, loving, close-knit extended family she grew up with in St. Louis, Missouri. Her experiences as a daughter, a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, and a “play-Auntie” means she has many stories to tell! Candelaria lives in a vibrant Dorchester neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband. She looks forward to long summer “take-over” visits from her grandchildren. What’s the Baby’s Name, Stacey? is the third in a series of books about Stacey. The first, Stacey Became a Frog One Day, was published in October 2020. The second, Jump! Jump! Jump! Stacey, was published in December 2021.

Abria Smith (she/her): Abria Smith is a Boston native who has worked for over 20 years as an actor, musician, and writer. Her professional life is driven by her desire to be of service to others and express herself. Her most recent releases are her book of poetry, Somebody Soup, and a single, “We Shall Rise.” Her signature statement—“When I cease to create, I cease to exist.”—sums up the importance of the arts in her life.

Jim Vrabel (he/him): Jim Vrabel is a former newspaper reporter, longtime community activist, and local historian. He was a founder of the Back of the Hill community development corporation on Mission Hill and the Academy of the Pacific Rim charter school in Hyde Park, and worked in city government for twenty-five years for the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, the Boston School Committee, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Jim is the author of When in Boston: A Timeline & Almanac (2004), A People’s History of the New Boston (2014), Homage to Henry: A Dramatization of John Berryman’s “The Dream Songs” (2015), and creator of When and Where in Boston: A Boston History Database.

Tricia Elam Walker (she/her): Tricia Elam Walker is an award-winning author, attorney, and educator. Her first novel, Breathing Room, was published by Simon & Schuster/PocketBooks in 2001. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Essence, and other publications. Tricia’s short stories are included in the O.Henry Prize Stories, New Stories from the South, and other anthologies. Her essays are published in Father’s Songs, Dream Me Home Safely, It’s All About Love, and more. As Hibernian Hall’s 2018-19 visiting playwright, her plays, “Bold Moves” and “With Glittering Eyes,” were produced in its Roxbury venue. Her first children’s book, Nana Akua Goes to School, was published by Random House in June 2020 and won a Children’s Africana Book Award 2021 and the Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award 2021. Dream Street, her second picture book was published, also by Random House, in November 2021 and won a North American Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award 2021. Currently, Tricia teaches writing at Howard University and resides in Takoma Park, MD with her husband.