University of Redlands
Learn more about 2025 speakers below and stay tuned for the festival schedule and more!
Vanessa Brantley-Newton was born during the Civil Rights movement, and attended school in Newark, NJ. Being part of a diverse, tight-knit community during such turbulent times, Vanessa learned the importance of acceptance and empowerment in shaping a young person’s life. Vanessa celebrates self-love and acceptance of all cultures through her work, and hopes to inspire young readers to find their own voices. Her books include Nesting Dolls, Grandma’s Purse, Just Like Me, and The Youngest Marcher. For more about Vanessa and her books go to here!
Candace Fleming is the award winning author of more than twenty books for children and young adults both fiction and non-fiction including Mine and Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, both illlustrated by her husband Eric Rohmann, and The Enigma Girls. Candace has always been a storyteller. She says even before she could write her name, she could tell a good tale—and she told them all the time. For more about Candace and her books, visit her website here.
Mitali Perkins has written many books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award) and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film by Sleeperwave Productions). Her books explore crossing different kinds of borders and she aims to make readers laugh or cry, preferably both, as long as their hearts are widening. She lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other Mitali Perkins books include Holy Night and Little Star, Home Is In Between, Between My Hands, and Between Us and Abuela. For more about Mitalli and her books go to here.
Jarrett is an award-winning author and illustrator. He spends his time making books in his home near Austin, TX, where he lives with his wife, their two boys, and two dogs. When he’s not making books, you might find him fishing on a river somewhere or tinkering under the hood of his new old F100. Since 2016, Jerome has been a graphic designer at The Walt Disney Company where he uses design and illustration to visually tell stories in print, digital, and immersive experiences. He works primarily from his home office in Georgetown, TX, where he lives with his wife and their three kids.
Brothers Jarrett and Jerome Pumphry have been making stuff together since 1981. Their books include There Was a Party for Langston, Somewhere in the Bayou, The Old Truck, The Old Boat, and the new Link and Hud middle grade series. For more about the Pumphry brothers and their books go to here.
When Diannne White, picture book author, poetry lover, teacher, was growing up, she never thought she would become a writer. As Dianne says, sometimes the things we come to enjoy best sneak up on us. Years later, we are able to recognize who or what was responsible for initiating the tiny sparks of interest that grew into something bigger. As a classroom teacher, she rediscovered the joy of children’s poetry and books. Dianne’s books include Finding Grateful, Sometimes a Wall…, It’s Your Time to Shine, Goodbye Brings Hello,and Who Eats Orange? For more about Dianne and her books visit her website here.
