DMC first made his start in the music business as one third of the groundbreaking rap group Run-DMC.

David is an American illustrator and writer of children's books. His Ace Lacewing: Bug Detective was named one of the Bank Street College of Education's Best Books of the Year.

James Dean is the original creator and illustrator of Pete the Cat. He is a self-taught artist originally from Fort Payne, Alabama.

Coy is a guitarist and organist for the Zac Brown Band, takes the same approach to writing children’s books as he does to penning lyrics for the three-time Grammy Award winning country group.

Yvette Manns is a New York City native and literacy educator. She is also the author of the children's book HBCU Proud and more forthcoming projects.

Kobi Yamada is a New York Times best-selling author and the president of Compendium, a company of amazing people doing amazing things.

Natasha Yim is an American Chinese author of fiction and non-fiction works for children and young adults.

Carole Boston Weatherford is an African American author and critic. She is the winner of the 2022 Coretta Scott King Award for Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre.