Steve Brezenoff is the author of young adult novels Guy in Real Life; The Absolute Value of -1; and Brooklyn, Burning, as well as dozens of chapter books for younger readers. He grew up on Long Island, spent his twenties in Brooklyn, and now lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Beth, who is also a writer for children, and their children Sam and Etta.

Beth Revis is the NY Times bestselling author of the Across the Universe trilogy and the companion novel, The Body Electric, as well as numerous short stories. She's currently working on several new YA novels in her rural NC home with her family and dogs.

Tom Leveen is the author of several YA novels, including Party, Sick, Random, and Shackled. His novel Zero was a YALSA Best Book of 2013. Tom has 22 years of theatre experience as an actor and director, and frequently teaches and speaks at high schools, universities, and conferences. One of his goals in life is to help people know and believe that their words, written or spoken, can make the world a pretty awesome place. So? What d'you say? He's on Facebook, Twitter, and at tomleveen.com.

Delilah S. Dawson is the author of Hit, Servants of the Storm, and the Blud series, including Wicked as They Come, Wicked After Midnight, and Wicked as She Wants, winner of the RT Book Reviews Steampunk Book of the Year and May Seal of Excellence for 2013. She has short stories in the Carniepunk, Unbound, and Three Slices anthologies in addition to novellas and comics. Her next book is Wake of Vultures, written as Lila Bowen. Delilah lives in the north Georgia mountains with her husband, two kids, a floppy mutt named Merle, and a Tennessee Walking Horse named Polly. Delilah dealt with bullying and depression in high school and tried to take her own life. She's glad she failed, because it really did get better.

Margie Gelbwasser has written for many magazines including SELF, Ladies' Home Journal, Parents, New Jersey Monthly, and Girls' Life. She's had two YA novels published by Flux. Inconvenient (2010) was named a 2011 Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Teens, and Kirkus called Pieces of Us (2012) “suspenseful, disturbing, and emotionally fraught.” She also write middle grade books, under the name Margaret Gurevich. Chloe by Design: Making the Cut (Capstone, 2014) her first middle grade novel, is billed as a “Project Runway for Teens,” and received praise from School Library Journal, VOYA, Booklist, and Kirkus. The sequel, Balancing Act, will be published by Capstone in September 2015.

Shaun David Hutchinson is the author of The Deathday Letter, fml, and The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley. His fourth novel, We Are the Ants, is set to rule the world Spring 2016. He lives with his partner and dog in South Florida and watches way too much Doctor Who.

Trish Doller is the author of The Devil You Know, Where the Stars Still Shine, an Indie Next List Pick, and Something Like Normal, which was a finalist for NPR's Best Teen Books of All Time, among many other accolades. She has been a newspaper reporter, radio personality, and bookseller, and lives in Fort Myers, Florida with a relentlessly optimistic Border Collie and a pirate.

Christine Johnson grew up in, moved away from and finally came home to Indianapolis, Indiana. She lives there with her two kids. She likes all kinds of things, but making things up and writing them down is her favorite. Follow her on Twitter - @cjohnsonbooks.

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Bruiser, which was a Cooperative Children's Books Center (CBCC) choice, a YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults pick, and on twelve state lists; The Schwa Was Here; and the Unwind dystology, among many other books. He lives in California with his four children.

Brendan Shusterman, whose artwork inspired many elements of Challenger Deep, is a budding artist and author—not just following in his father's footsteps, but blazing trails of his own.

Blythe Woolston is the author The Freak Observer, Catch & Release, Black Helicopters, and, MARTians. She lives and writes in Montana, where guns are ordinary objects. If you are curious, visit Blythe’s virtual homestead. http://www.blythewoolston.net

E. M. Kokie writes about teens, particularly those on the cusp of life-changing moments. Her debut novel Personal Effects (Candlewick Press, 2012) was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults and Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten title, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and a 2013 IRA Young Adult Honor Book. A lawyer by training, she loves a good story and a good debate, even better if she can have the last word. She can be found online at www.emkokie.com, tweets as @EMKokie, and blogs at www.thpiratetree.com, a collective of children’s and young adult writers interested in literature for adolescent readers and social justice issues.

Hi. I'm Elisa. I like cheese and reading and binge-watching TV shows. Writing is scary, but not as scary as, say, Civil War amputations. My debut novel, Escape From Eden, was released in 2013 and received a Kirkus star by a (possibly drunk and very kind) reviewer. I'm an Aquarius. Uh... let's see... I'm not very good at writing my own biography. Or autobiography. I guess this is reading more like a slightly incoherent personal ad.

Mindi Scott is the author of Live Through This and Freefall. She lives near Seattle, Washington, with her drummer husband.

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the critically acclaimed, New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling author of the Tantalize-Feral universe series novels. She is also the author of several award-winning children's books, including Jingle Dancer, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu; Rain Is Not My Indian Name, and Indian Shoes, illustrated by Jim Madsen. Cynthia was named a Writer of the Year by Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers in recognition of Rain is Not My Indian Name.

Cynthia has been twice featured at the National Book Festival. Her titles have been honored among Notable Children's Trade Books in Social Studies, Oklahoma Book Award finalists, NEA Choices, CCBC Choices, Bank Street Choices, Children's Crown List selections, YALSA Popular Paperbacks, and more. Of late, she was named the first Spirit of Texas Young Adult author by the Young Adult Round Table of the Texas Library Association and the first young adult author to be honored with the Illumine Award by the Austin Public Library Friends Foundation.

In 2013, the Austin chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators instituted the Cynthia Leitich Smith Mentor Award in her honor. In 2014, Feral Nights was named winner of the Writers' League of Texas Book Award and Cynthia was appointed to the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books.

Cynthia is a popular writing teacher, serving on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. In addition, her website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids.

Kendare Blake is the author of six novels, including Anna Dressed in Blood, Antigoddess and Ungodly . Her writing is generally dark, violent, and full of doomed love and cursing. When she's not writing, she enjoys travel, eating, and eating while traveling, especially if the food is weird or French and drowning in sauce. She lives in Kent, Washington with her two cat sons, baby dog son, and her husband. Contact her at her website: kendareblake.com.

Hannah Moskowitz is a tank top-collecting, tv-obsessing, Rocky Horror-performing woman of mystery. She's a '90s kid, a mezzo-soprano, and a professional Sims-breeder. If she's not writing she's probably eating. Her cats are better than your cats. She'd choose a good haircut over a good wardrobe any day. And no matter where she's living, she's a clear-eyed, full-hearted Maryland girl with Old Bay for blood.

Courtney Summers lives and writes in Canada. She is the author of several YA novels including Cracked Up to Be, This is Not a Test and All the Rage. Visit her online at http://courtneysummers.ca