Renée Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, educator, and community activist. Her young adult novel, Piecing Me Together (Bloomsbury, 2017) received a Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Honor. Her children's picture books and novels for teens have received several awards and international recognition. Her poetry and fiction centers around the experiences of Black girls and women, and explores themes of home, identity, and the intersections of race, class, and gender.

One of Renée’s passions is using the arts to help youth cope with trauma and discuss social issues. Her picture book, A Place Where Hurricanes Happen is based on poetry workshops she facilitated with children in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Fredeisha Harper Darrington is an educator with the Fairfield City School System in Fairfield, Alabama and works as a teacher-consultant with the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Red Mountain Writing Project. She is passionate about social justice as it relates to the education and literacy of all students. She works as an advocate for students with dyslexia and promotes the use of culturally responsive practices in all content areas.

Fredeisha has worked in the field of early literacy and language development as a classroom teacher and school library media specialist for over 24 years. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the department of Curriculum and Instruction. Her work is centered around dyslexia, early literacy and language development, social justice, and equity in education.

Fredeisha considers writing, traveling, crocheting, and volunteering in her community some of her many interests and passions.