B Archives - Hudson Childrens Book Festival

Beatrice, Jenna

Jenna Beatrice is a children’s author, lawyer, and mom. She began her legal career as a lawyer for children before becoming a litigator and a trustee of a children’s advocacy center. As an author, Jenna now shares the joy of reading with young children. Jenna lives in New Jersey with her husband and two young sons. jennabeatrice.com

Awards

Children’s Book Council’s 2024 Favorites Award (Children’s List), Shortlisted: Mrs. Laura Bush’s 2023 Summer Reading List,Shortlisted: 2024 Redbud Read-Aloud Book Award Masterlist, Featured in The Washington Post.

3 Fun Facts

Jenna Loves:
1. Hiking
2. Baking
3. Baseball (Go Yankees!)

Bingham, Winsome

Bingham, Winsome

Winsome Bingham is an author of books for teenies, toddlers, tweens, and teens. In her previous life, she was a teacher and freedom-protector in the U.S. Army. She is the author of the award-winning books, SOUL FOOD SUNDAY, THE WALK, MISSING MOMMA, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, and THE TABLE (co-written with Wiley Blevins). www.binghamwrites.com

Awards

New York Times Best Book of the Year, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor (SOUL FOOD SUNDAY) , International Literary Award, Award Medal National Book for a Global Society, NPR Book of the Day, Connecticut Book Award, Jane Addams Peace Prize Shortlist, too many to list.

3 Fun Facts

1, I fought in war.
2. I’ve visited 47 states.
3. I shook the hands of 3 U.S Presidents.

Buckley, Michael

Michael_Buckley_dana_gallagher_005 – Michael Buckley

Buckley, Michael

Michael Buckley is the NY Times bestselling author of The Sisters Grimm series and N.E.R.D.S., as well as the National bestsellers Undertow, and The Weirdies. Executive producer and writer of Apple TV’s The Sisters Grimm animated series. www.Michaelbuckleywrites.com

Awards

The Washington State Children’s Choice Award. The Hawaiian Children’s Choice Award. Several starred reviews. Audible best of 2025 and 2024.

3 Fun Facts

1. I used to sing in a punk rock band.
2. I have a TV show on Apple that stars my childhood crush.
3. I have a west highland terrier named Friday.

Brown, Keith Henry

Keith Henry Brown Author potrtait jpeg – Keith Henry Brown

Brown, Keith Henry

Keith Henry Brown is an award-winning author, illustrator, and designer whose career spans comics, fine art, design, and education. A former Marvel Comics illustrator and Parsons School of Design alumnus, he has published watercolor artwork widely and later became a creative director, often inspired by his lifelong passion for jazz. Brown has designed for institutions such as Blue Note Jazz Club and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and created album covers for renowned jazz artists. He now teaches at Parsons and lives in Brooklyn. His acclaimed children’s books include Birth of the Cool and Because of You, John Lewis. His forthcoming book, Pushing Hope, will be published by Astra Publishing. www.keithhbrown.com

Awards

School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW, Best Books of 2025: Named as one of the best books of the year in the “Gr 9 Up” (High School) category by School Library Journal. Horn Book Fanfare 2025: Selected for the Horn Book’s annual “Fanfare” list, which highlights the year’s best books for children and young adults.

3 Fun Facts

1. Lives in Brooklyn.
2. Jazz fanatic.
3. Movie lover.

Blackall, Sophie

Sophie Blackall, AM is an award-winning illustrator of over 50 books for children, including the New York Times best-selling Ivy and Bean series, the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner, Finding Winnie and the 2019 Caldecott Medal winner, Hello Lighthouse, which she also wrote. She is the five-time recipient of The New York Times Best Illustrated Picture Book Award and has worked with UNICEF and Save the Children, UK on global health and literacy initiatives. Originally from Australia, she now splits her time between Brooklyn, New York, and the Catskill Mountains, where she and her husband run a retreat for the children’s book community called Milkwood Farm. www.sophieblackall.com

Awards

Caldecott Medal 2016
Caldecott Medal 2019
Five time recipient of New York Times Best-Illustrated children’s book award

3 Fun Facts

1. Sophie Blackall turned a dilapidated 19th century dairy farm into a retreat for the children’s book community, called Milkwood.
2. She collects vintage tiny furniture.
3. She still calls Australia home.

Bean, Cara

Bean, Cara

Cara Bean is an obsessive doodler, author, and art educator. Here I Am, I Am Me: An Illustrated Guide to Mental Health is her first book for adolescents. She is also the author of Draw 500 Faces and Features, and her work has been featured in Pen America Illustrated, The Women’s Review of Books, and Teaching Arts Magazine. Cara enjoys watching the beginning of complex ideas emerge from the simple act of doodling on paper. She provides interactive workshops on creativity with people of all ages and backgrounds in various public forums. Cara lives on the Southcoast of Massachusetts with her partner Matt and their dog Raisin. https://www.carabeancomics.com/

Awards

2018 Liminka Comics Center Resident, Oulu, Finland
2019 Cornish Center for Cartoon Studies Fellow, Cornish, New Hampshire, USA

3 Fun Facts

1. I love drawing squirrels.
2. It annoys me when erasers on pencils leave a mark on the paper instead of erasing.
3. I am always searching for the perfect green hoodie.

Budhos, Marina

Marina Budhos is the author of several books for young adults and adults. Her newest novel, We Are All We Have, was a Best Kirkus Book of 2022. Among her prior books are Watched, which received a Walter Award and an Asian Pacific American Honor, The Long Ride, Tell Us We’re Home, and Ask Me No Questions, recipient of numerous honors. She has also published the adult novels The Professor of Light and House of Waiting, and three works of nonfiction, including her co-authored books with husband Marc Aronson, Sugar Changed the World, an LA Times Book Finalist and Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro & The Invention of Modern Photojournalism, both of which were YALSA Nonfiction Finalists. Her books have been published in several countries and her short work has appeared in publications such as The Daily Beast, LitHub, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, The Nation, Travel & Leisure, the Los Angeles Times, and in anthologies. She has received an NEA Literature Fellowship, a Rona Jaffe Award for Women Writers, three Fellowships from the New Jersey Council on the Arts, and has been a Fulbright Scholar to India. She is a professor emerita at William Paterson University. She frequently gives talks around the country and abroad. https://marinabudhos.com

Awards

Watched received an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature YA Honor (APALA) and a Walter Award Honor (We Need Diverse Books), Eyes of the World was a 2017 YALSA Finalist in Nonfiction. I have received an NEA Literature Fellowship, a Rona Jaffe Award for Women Writers, three Fellowships from the New Jersey Council on the Arts, and have been a Fulbright Scholar to India.

3 Fun Facts

1. My sister-in-law’s brother has operated the Howard Hotel and Ca’Mea for years.
2. I was the first girl to wear pants at my elementary school once it was allowed (first day it was announced).
3. I once hitchhiked with a college roommate from the state of Washington to San Francisco, much to the horror of my young adult sons.

Berger, Carin

Carin Berger is the award-winning author and illustrator of almost a dozen picture books for children, including The Little Yellow Leaf, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, All of Us, and Finding Spring. She is also the illustrator of Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant by Jack Prelutsky and Are We Pears Yet? by Miranda Paul. She and her family divide their time between NYC and Cupcake, their home, in the Hudson Valley. Carin spends all of her spare time tending her garden. Cupcake makes an appearance in and was the inspiration for In the Night Garden. http://www.carinberger.com/

Awards

New York Times Best Illustrated Book (The Little Yellow Leaf)

3 Fun Facts

1. My house in Hillsdale appears in the book.
2. I really do have a hoot owl in my garden.
3. The cat in the book is inspired by my daughter’s cat, Cosy.

Balouch, Kristen

Balouch, Kristen

Kristen Balouch has created almost a dozen books for children. She has collaborated on projects from exclusive designed toys and furniture for the Guggenheim Museum, fabric collections for Little House Cottons, fine art shows in New York City, and teamed with various licensing partners. Kristen splits her time between the Adirondacks and a tiny top-floor apartment in Brooklyn, New York. She likes cooking for friends and family, wandering to scout out good food, and being outside. www.kristenbalouch.com

Awards

Ezra Jack Keats Award, Charlotte Zolotow Commended, CCBC Best Book of the Year, Middle East Book Award, Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, The Golden Kite Honor Award, Illustration Category.

3 Fun Facts

1. Kristen has a new puppy named Porter.
2. Kristen likes Chocolate.
3. Kristen does not like marshmallows.

Baker, Jennifer

Jennifer Baker is a publishing professional of 20 years, the creator/host of the Minorities in Publishing podcast, and a faculty member of the MFA program in Creative Nonfiction at Bay Path University and a writing consultant at Baruch College. Jennifer is also the editor of the short story anthology Everyday People: The Color of Life (Atria Books, 2018) and the author of the YA novel Forgive Me Not (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023). Her fiction, nonfiction, and criticism has appeared in various print and online publications. Her website is: jennifernbaker.com.

Awards

Jennifer Baker’s essay “What We Aren’t (or the Ongoing Divide)” was listed as a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2018. She received a 2017 NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship and a Queens Council on the Arts New Work Grant for Nonfiction Literature. In 2019, she was named Publishers Weekly Superstar for her contributions to inclusion and representation in publishing. Forgive Me Not was listed by New York Public Library as a “Best Books for Teens 2023,” included on the Texas Library Association’s 2024 TAYSHAS Reading List, and Electric Literature’s “Best Novels of 2023.”

3 Fun Facts

1. Jennifer is an amateur baker who has won local competitions.
2. Jennifer is an active cyclist and a big fan of NYC’s new bike lanes.
3. Jennifer’s biggest goal is to travel to every country in Asia and eat all the things!