Lauren Magaziner is the internationally bestselling author of The Incorruptibles series, the Case Closed series, The Mythics series, and three other stand-alone books for middle grade readers. Lauren grew up in New Hope, Pennsylvania. After receiving a B.A. in Creative Writing and Philosophy at Hamilton College, Lauren Magaziner worked on two delightful Scholastic magazines, where many of her coworkers didn’t believe her last name was real. She currently lives in Philadelphia, where she writes full time. www.laurenmagaziner.com.

Awards:

Lauren’s books are international bestsellers, are available in 12 languages, have been Junior Library Guild selections, have been on the Indie Next List, been an Amazon bestseller, earned starred reviews, been on state lists, and have been optioned for a TV movie with Nickelodeon.

3 Fun Facts

1. I usually work on four books at a time, all in different stages of the writing process. I love having a revolving door of projects.
2. I plot all my work on a giant whiteboard. For The Incorruptibles, I had to keep track of about 15 different character’s squads, backstories, and internal arcs.
3. The quickest manuscript I’ve ever written was The Mythics: Marina and the Kraken. It took me 11 days to complete the first draft.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Torrey Maldonado is an acclaimed author and educator whose work impacts middle grade, young adult, and elementary school literature. He approaches thirty years teaching and has been celebrated by two NYC Chancellors as a top culturally responsive educator. Named “Best Books of the Year” by NPR, The Washington Post, Oprah, and The NY Times, Hands, What Lane?, Tight, and Secret Saturdays are inspired by his and his students’ lives. They’re praised for their authenticity about friendship, family, and choices. Torrey contributes to anthologies alongside celebrated authors. Children’s literature celebrates his 2025 debut picture-book, Just Right, and upcoming picture-books Little Artist and Uncle. Learn more at torreymaldonado.com

3 Fun Facts

1. In third grade, I got hooked to comics. By fourteen, I had 200 comics. Then came my cat, Snow White. Cute name: a Disney princess. She could’ve been a villain. She destroyed my collection—peeing and clawing my 200 down to 50. Do you know what it’s like to see your favorite superheroes smell like cat pee? Ever since, my dream superpower isn’t flying—it’s time-control because I’d pause pets mid-pee to save others from losing valuables to cat-chaos. Oh, I’d love super-speed too.

2. Scrabble! How does a word-game get my heart pumping like an athlete? I love Scrabble so much that it’ll be at my signing table. See if you can beat me. I enjoy losing as much as I do winning. New to the game? I’ll teach you or you can bring someone to tag-team against me.

3. As a tween, I spent a month taping my ears to my head with black electrical tape because I thought that would shrink them or something. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. The good news? People say my head finally grew into my ears. I guess my ears were ahead of their time?