2025 Staff Picks: New Voices

Jumata Emill is a journalist who has covered crime and local politics in Mississippi and parts of Louisiana. He earned his BA in mass communications from Southern University and A&M College. He’s a Pitch Wars alum and a member of the Crime Writers of Color. When he’s not writing about murderous teens, he’s watching and obsessively tweeting about every franchise of the Real Housewives. Jumata lives in Baton Rouge, Louisi...

Paige Classey is a school librarian who lives with her husband and two sons on the Connecticut shoreline. She is the author of the YA novel Everything You Left Me, which was selected as a Forbes "7 Most-Anticipated YA Mysteries to Dive Into This Winter." She has also contributed articles on libraries and education that have appeared in School Library Journal, TEACH Magazine, and Education Week. Anna-Jane and the Last Summer is inspired by her own...

Sadie Turner grew up in the Welsh Borders and now lives in Hampshire, not far from the former home of one of her biggest inspirations: Jane Austen. She is a copywriter, mother of two, and author of gloomy, romantic, neurodiverse YA Fantasy. When she can find the time, she loves reading, cooking, and classic CRPGs, and is rarely seen without a cup of tea on hand. She is the author of the Tidespeaker duology....

Mychal Threets is a librarian and literacy advocate named one of Time’s 100 most influential creators. Online, he shares videos of affirmations to assure people that their mental health always matters, and he encourages everyone to know they belong at the library. A former PBS kid himself, Mychal is proud to serve as PBS resident librarian. This is his first book. His cats, Machine Gun Kitty and Kissin’ Kat Barlow, did not help a...

Jill Tew was destined for speculative fiction nerddom from childhood. She grew up watching Farscape, The Tribe, and Hercules, and always had the latest copy of Animorphs tucked in her backpack. A recovering business school graduate, Jill enjoys belting show tunes and baking in her spare time. She lives in Atlanta with her family. The Dividing Sky was her debut novel; this is her second for teens....

Kristen Mei Chase is known for her writing about family life, relationships, and modern motherhood. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, NBCNews.com and more. She is the co-founder of the Cool Mom Picks Network, which includes the award-winning podcast, SPAWNED, which reaches millions of moms every month. Kristen is also a frequent guest on various television news shows like NBC’s Today Show, CNBC, HLN, and CNN.
Kristen’s books include her debut novel, A Thousand Miles to Graceland, her forthcoming debut children’s picture book We Are American, Too, and her debut children’s chapter book series, Gracie Wei.  Along with writing, Kristen can be found driving around her four kids, and taking care of two dogs, one lizard, and a very loud bird in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

Rebecca Mock is an illustrator and comics artist. She illustrated the graphic novels Compass South and Knife's Edge, both written by Hope Larson. Her work has also appeared in various publications, including the New York Times and the New Yorker. She is co-organizer of the Hana Doki Kira anthology....

Lily Braun-Arnold is currently an undergraduate at Smith College studying English. When she isn’t writing, she can be found working at her local independent bookstore, Watchung Booksellers, or daydreaming about living in outer space....