Erin Entrada Kelly received the 2018 Newbery Medal for HELLO, UNIVERSE, the 2017 APALA Award for Literature for THE LAND OF FORGOTTEN GIRLS, and the 2016 Golden Kite Honor Award for BLACKBIRD FLY, among other honors. She is a New York Times-bestselling author. Her most recent novels, LALANI OF THE DISTANT SEA and WE DREAM OF SPACE, have appeared on numerous best-of lists. Erin also serves as a mentor for Pitch Wars and We Need Diverse Books, and teaches on the MFA faculties at Rosemont College and Hamline MFAC. She lives in Delaware.