H Archives - Hudson Childrens Book Festival

Hwang, Sarah

Hwang, Sarah

Sarah Hwang is a Korean-American picture book author and Illustrator. She received her BFA in illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Arts. Sarah loves to sprinkle a bit of her quirk and humor in everything she creates. As a storyteller, she focuses on creating fun stories that are relatable for readers of all ages. Sarah made her author-illustrator debut with her much loved picture book, Toasty. sarah-hwang.com

Awards

Starred Review by School Library Journal

3 Fun Facts

1. I am a huge foodie- I love eating and drawing food.
2. My two favorite animals are dogs and penguins.
3. I draw mostly everything everything from memory (My illustrations are focused on capturing essence or feelings of things).

Harper, Janelle

Janelle Harper is a Bronx native who proudly carries her New York accent wherever she goes. Janelle’s artistic work is inspired by city life and the diverse experiences of the African Diaspora. She comes from a long line of educators and has spent nearly two decades teaching dance in NYC public schools. As a children’s author, Janelle is passionate about representation and hopes to create stories that make children fall more in love with themselves. When she’s not thinking about her next book, Janelle is at home enthusiastically playing along with TV game shows like The Price Is Right. https://www.janelleharperauthor.com

Awards

Starred reviews from Kirkus Review, Horn Book and Publishers Weekly, Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, Black Caucus ALA Best of the Best 2024, The Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025 Edition, 2025 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People.

3 Fun Facts

1. My favorite animal is a unicorn.
2. My lucky number is 13.
3. I’ve visited 5 of the 7 continents (Australia and Antarctica are on my bucket list).

Houran, Lori Haskins

Houran, Lori Haskins

Lori Haskins Houran is a former children’s book editor and the author of more than sixty books for kids. Several of her books are about dogs, which makes sense, given that she has the two best pups on the planet. Oh, and the people in her house are pretty great, too. Lori lives with her family on the North Shore of Massachusetts. lorihaskinshouran.com

Awards

Glasses (2021) • Winner, NSTA/CBC Best Stem Book
Bicycle (2021) • Winner, NSTA/CBC Best Stem Book
Are You My Planet? (2021) • Best Children’s Book of the Year, Air & Space
Button Your Buttons (2020) • Starred review, Kirkus Reviews

3 Fun Facts

1. I once (and only once!) jumped out of an airplane.
2. I am (distantly!) related to art thief Myles Connor, a suspect in the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum heist.
3. In high school, I won third place in a state typing contest. That turned out to be a handy skill for a writer!

Ho, Jannie

Ho, Jannie

Jannie Ho is an author, illustrator, and cartoonist. Some of her books include Bear and Chicken and The Lost Mitten, which was named an ALA Best Graphic Novel for Children and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. She is also the illustrator of the graphic novel series Fry Guys. She lives in Massachusetts with her family. http://www.chickengirldesign.com

Awards

ALA Best Graphic Novel for Children
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

3 Fun Facts

1. I’m known as Chicken Girl because I love chickens.
2. My favorite character in FRY GUYS is Mayor Spud.
3. I have a pet fish named Sir Bubbles.

Hooper, Don P.

Hooper, Don P.

Don P. Hooper is a writer and filmmaker of Jamaican heritage (and a programmer in a former life). His short story “Got Me a Jet Pack” is part of the New York Times bestselling anthology Black Boy Joy. His directing work has been featured in the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival, the New York Television Film Festival (award winner), the New York City Horror Film Festival, the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival (award winner), and more. He does voice-over in video games and documentaries. True True is his debut novel. www.donphooper.com

Awards

True True received a starred review by Publisher’s Weekly, who wrote, “Hooper presents valuable lessons on the healing power of community, forgiveness, and sharing one’s truth.”
“BIPOC youth will find resonance here; privileged audiences, perhaps, need this most of all.” —School Library Journal, starred review of Audio Book.
Black Boy Joy was an instant New York Times bestseller and received 5 starred reviews.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’m a voice over actor, who has voiced several commercials.
2. I received a martial arts scholarship to college.
3. I was once part of a team that designed solar cars and made dogs play soccer.

Hagan, Ellen

Hagan, Ellen

Ellen Hagan is a writer, performer, and educator. She is the author of Don’t Call Me a Hurricane and Reckless, Glorious, Girl and the coauthor with Renée Watson of Watch Us Rise. Her poetry collections include Blooming Fiascoes, Hemisphere, and Crowned. Her work can be found in ESPN Magazine, She Walks in Beauty, and Southern Sin. Raised in Kentucky, she now lives in New York City with her family. www.ellenhagan.com • @ellenhagan

Awards

Ellen is the recipient of the 2020 New York Foundation for the Arts fellowing in poetry, the 2013 NoMAA Creative Arts Grant and received grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts.

Hood, Susan

Hood, Susan

Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including ADA’S VIOLIN; ALIAS ANNA; HARBORING HOPE; THE LAST STRAW; LIFEBOAT 5; LIFEBOAT 12; SHAKING THINGS UP; and SPIKE, THE MIXED-UP MONSTER. Starting her career as an editor at Scholastic, Sesame Workshop, and Nick Jr. Magazine, Susan now writes books for kids ages 0-14. She’s published with Candlewick, HarperCollins, Penguin, Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Based in Connecticut, Susan loves to travel, play with her granddaughters, hike with her rescue dog, and spend summers sailing with her husband along the New England coast. Visit Susan at susanhoodbooks.com.

Awards

Susan is the recipient of the E.B. White Honor Award, two Christopher Awards, the Américas Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, and the Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, given to “a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration to young people.” ALIAS ANNA was named a 2023 Sydney Taylor Notable Book and was a finalist for the 2023 National Jewish Book Awards.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’ve sailed from Tortola to Bermuda to Connecticut on a 38′ boat. Three days out we lost our engine, navigation equipment, and lights!
2. My great-great-grandfather was a lighthouse keeper.
3. As a writer, I’ve gotten to meet some of my heroes–Ruby Bridges, Jane Goodall, and Arnold Lobel!

Hiranandani, Veera

Hiranandani, Veera

Veera Hiranandani is the award-winning author of several books for young people. Her most recent book, a companion to her Newbery Honor-winning THE NIGHT DIARY, is called AMIL AND THE AFTER. She’s also the author of HOW TO FIND WHAT YOU’RE NOT LOOKING FOR, which received the 2022 Sydney Taylor Book Award among other accolades. She earned her MFA in fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College. A former editor at Simon & Schuster, she’s now a faculty member with the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at The Vermont College of Fine Arts. www.veerahiranandani.com

Awards

A Newbery Honor, A Sydney Taylor Award, A National Jewish Book Award Finalist, The Jane Addams Award, the New York Historical Society Children’s History Book Prize, a Walter Dean Myers Honor, and the Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’m from Fairfield County, CT.
2. I LOVE cats.
3. I used to think I’d grow up to be a painter or an actor.

Hasbrook, Sarah D.

Hasbrook, Sarah D.

Sarah D. Hasbrook wrote and illustrated her first self-published book “Sadie Mae’s Constant Song” in the summer of 2017. In addition, Sarah is a second grade special education teacher. She holds an Associate in Arts from Columbia-Greene Community College, Bachelor of Science in Education from SUNY New Paltz and two Master’s degrees, one in Childhood Special Education and most recently (2017), a second Master’s degree in Childhood Literacy Education both from SUNY New Paltz. Her passion for teaching and literacy prompted her to write this story. She wanted people to know that even when life is difficult, it is important to always see the good in every situation. In her free time she loves photography, to travel, and of course spend time with her favorite four legged friend, Sadie Mae. Visit Sarah’s website.

3 Fun Facts

1. Sailing is one of my favorite things to do on vacation.
2. My second grade teacher inspired me to be a second grade teacher.
3. I love to travel, but I have never been in an airplane.

Hirsch, Jeff

Hirsch, Jeff

Jeff Hirsch is originally from Richmond Virginia and now lives in Beacon, NY. He wrote The Eleventh Plague, The Darkest Path and Black River Falls. His peanut butter chocolate chip cookies will renew your faith that there is something good and holy in this barbaric world. www.jeff-hirsch.com