Tricia Elam Walker

Tricia Elam Walker is the author of the acclaimed picture book Nana Akua Goes to School, which received the 2021 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award and the Children's Africana Book Award, as well as four starred reviews. The Wall Street Journal hailed it as a "a picture book . . . that captures a complex vulnerability that every child feels at one point or another." Tricia also wrote a novel for adults, Breathing Room, under the name Patricia Elam. She is a cultural and fashion commentator and blogger, and has written for National Public Radio, the Washington Post, Essence magazine, HuffPost, and more. She practiced law for sixteen years prior to teaching writing in Washington, DC, and Boston. Currently, Tricia is an assistant professor of creative writing at Howard University, and resides in Takoma Park, Maryland with her husband. Visit her at triciaelamwalker.com.

Ekua Holmes is the acclaimed bestselling illustrator of several award-winning picture books, including Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer (Caldecott Honor, NAACP Image Award, CSK John Steptoe Award, Sibert Honor), Out of Wonder (CSK Award, NY Times bestseller), and The Stuff of Stars (CSK Award). A painter and collage artist, she graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Visit her at ekuaholmes.com.