Marcia Thornton Jones and Debbie Dadey

Debbie Dadey grew up in Kentucky and now lives in a log cabin in Tennessee with her husband and two greyhound rescues. Her three adult children continue to inspire her. A former first grade teacher and school librarian, she is the author and coauthor of over 180 books, including the Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series. Her newest series, Mini Mermaid Tales, is a multicultural easy chapter book series from Simon and Schuster. Her newest picture book is Never Give Up: Dr. Kati Karik? and the Race for the Future of Vaccines. Pearl Low is an Afro Asian artist based in Vancouver, Canada. Their art is rooted in themes of self-love, acceptance, and Chinese and Jamaican Canadian experiences. They work in comics and animation and won an Oscar in 2020 for their work on the short film Hair Love. Marcia Thornton Jones is an award-winning author who has published more than 130 books for children, including the Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series, Woodford Brave, Ratfink, and Champ. Marcia lives with her husband, Steve, and two cats in Lexington, Kentucky, where she continues to write, mentor writers, and teach writing classes. She is the coordinator of the Carnegie Center Author Academy, an intensive one-on-one writing program for adult writers working toward publication.