Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. He was named a National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress in 2016, and advocates for the importance of reading, especially reading diversely. His graphic novel American Born Chinese, a National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner, has been adapted into an original series on Disney+. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the LA Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award Finalist. His nonfiction graphic novel, Dragon Hoops, received an Eisner award and a Printz honor. His other comics work includes Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), and Superman Smashes the Klan and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series (both with Gurihiru). In 2016, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

Les McClaine decided he wanted to draw comics when he was eight years old and has been doing it ever since. He is the Eisner-nominated author of “Johnny Crossbones,” “Life With Leslie,” “Repeat Until Death,” and “Highway 13.” He has also illustrated numerous comics including “The Tick” and “The Middleman.” In 2008, “The Middleman” was made into a TV series for ABC Family. He lives in Portland, Oregon in a little yellow house with his wife Crystal and their cat Theodore.

Alison Acton is a Canadian artist with a background in comics and traditional animation. She’s worked for studios like Spumco, Pocket Gems, Big Jump, and Netflix, and publishers like HarperCollins, Tokyopop, and First Second. She loves creating expressive characters, writing snarky dialogue, jiu-jitsu, and long dog walks away from her three almost teen boys who are perpetually competing to see who can be the loudest.