Authors, Moderators and Library Experts

Marie Arana is a writer-at-large for the Washington Post, and former editor-in-chief of Book World, the literary review section of the Washington Post. Arana has written several books. Her most recent is Bolívar: An American Liberator, a biography of Simon Bolívar researched and written while in residence at the Kluge Center. The book was awarded the … Continue reading Marie Arana →

Sandra Cisneros credit Ray SantistebanSandra Cisneros was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1954. In addition to several books of poetry and children’s books, Cisneros has published four books of fiction, including The House on Mango Street (1994), which was awarded the American Book Award by the Before Columbus Foundation; Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories … Continue reading Sandra Cisneros →

James McBride is the author of the bestselling novel “Deacon King Kong”; “The Good Lord Bird,” winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction; “The Color of Water”; “Song Yet Sung”; the story collection “Five-Carat Soul”; the James Brown biography “Kill ’Em and Leave”; and “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.”

Meg Medina, 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, was the eighth writer to hold this position. During her term, Medina will engage readers across the country through her new platform Cuéntame!: Let’s talk books.

Gene Luen Yang, 2016-2017 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, was the fifth writer to hold this position. During his two-year term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Gene Luen Yang traveled across American to promote his platform, “READING WITHOUT WALLS.”