Ezra Jack Keats Award Winners

Sydney Smith

From and Now: Nova Scotia, Canada

6 Word Memoir: chasing what is universal yet indescribable 

Activities: Running always brings good ideas and music inspires emotions.

Distractions and Neat or Messy: I don’t deal well with distractions. I am very messy. I watch videos about film and filmmakers.

Other Awards:

• NYT/NYPL best illustrated: Sidewalk Flowers, The White Cat and the Monk, Town is by the Sea
• Kate Greenaway award: Town is by the Sea
• Governor Generals award for Literature: Sidewalk Flowers and Small in the City

Next Book: Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, 2020

Ashleigh Corrin

From: Warrenton, VA; Now: Falls Church, VA

6 Word Memoir: Country girl pursuing her destiny.

Activities: Love nature and taking pictures of patterns I find when out and about. I also love hand-lettering quotes that I love.

Distraction: To avoid distractions I like working late at night when it is quiet and everyone is asleep. This is when I feel like I focus best.  

Upcoming: Currently working on an eBook for kids to help them cope with the Coronavirus pandemic.

John Sullivan

From and Now: Chicago, IL

6 Word Memoir: Feeling at home feeding homeless cats

Activities: Besides ...writing stories and caring for neighborhood strays, I love to tap-dance and craft haiku. I've published haiku in Frogpond, Modern Haiku, and several children's anthologies edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

Distraction: When I’m putting off a difficult revision, I usually spend time on other worthwhile activities, like birding or learning Spanish. When I’m truly wasting time, I’m trying to make sense out of politics.

Other Awards:

• Margaret Wise Brown Award Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Award

Upcoming: Ethan and the Strays (working title), 2023.

Oge Mora

From: Columbus, OH; Now: Providence, RI

6 Word Memoir: I'm too wordy for six words.

Activities: I go to the art museum and listen to music but leaving the studio and living your life is the best mode of inspiration.

Neat or Messy?/Distractions: I aspire for neatness but it can get messy! Chatting with people is usually what gets me. I get the most work done when I am alone!

Other Awards:

• Caldecott Honor Award 2019
• Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award 2019
• Anna Dewdney Read Together Award, 2019: Thank You, Omu!

Upcoming: Everybody and the Red Brick Building by Anne Wynter

Derrick Barnes

From: Kansas City, MO; Now: Charlotte, NC

6 Word Memoir: Resilience and faith have eliminated doubt

Activities: Take notes on the interactions and mannerisms of strangers between flights or in other public places

Distractions: Watching YouTube videos on travel and food that my wife won't let me eat anymore.

Other Awards: 

• Coretta Scott King Honor, Newbery Honor, Kirkus Prize: Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut  
• NY Times Bestseller: The King of Kindergarten

Upcoming: Three picture books, a middle grade novel, and the first book in a series for a very popular animated franchise

Evan Turk

From: Colorado Now: New York's Hudson Valley

6 Word Memoir: Always looking over the next mountain.

Activities: I love to travel and draw outside, spending time in nature

Distraction: I find that the best way to deal with distractions is to not have my phone with me! Whenever I'm drawing, and I'm away from my phone or computer, I find that I am much more present. 

Other Awards:

• 2017 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Books List:  Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters 
• 2017 Children's Africana Book Award: The Storyteller
• Lee Bennet Hopkins Poetry Honor: You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks

Upcoming: A Thousand Glass Flowers: Marietta Barovier and the Invention of the Rosetta Bead, August 2020. The People’s Painter: Ben Shahn’s Artful Stories of Life in America, by Cynthia Levinson, 2021.

Jeri Watts

From: Lynchburg, VA; Now: Lexington, VA

6 Word Memoir: A teacher believed: in the hands of a real writer.

Activities: Live openly: read, listen, see, touch, smell, taste, all with the idea of how writers could sense such experiences.

Distraction: I spend time with my grandchildren, read more, straighten messes, piddle around. My desk for writing is in the middle of the house so I'm available. EEK!

Upcoming: Manuscript in development

Micha Archer

Micha Archer From: Concord MA; Now: Leverett, MA 6 Word Memoir: From and for children I learn. Activities: I walk in the mountains and plant trees and plants. Procrastination: I am SO messy because I work in collage so my floor is covered in confetti I have snipped. When I procrastinate I make little fun collages with my scraps and wish I could just do that all day some days. Other Awards:

• Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program: Daniel books

Don Tate

Don Tate

From: Des Moines, IA; Now: Austin, TX

6 Word Memoir: In-person introvert. Online extrovert. Text me.

Activities: Swim. Bicep curl. Coffee with tiny pies.

How do you deal with distractions: Complain to my wife.

Other Awards:

• SCBWI Crystal Kite, a Christopher and a Texas Institute of Letters book prize: Poet

Upcoming: William Still’s Freedom Stories: Father of the Underground Railroad: Nov. 2020

Chieri Uegaki

From: Canada; Now: Sunshine Coast, BC

6 Word Memoir: Immigrant parents, two cultures, teachers, books.

Activities: I love to bake which helps me with mindfulness--distraction leads to baking failures. I also read as much as I can, whatever looks interesting--books, articles, news, blogs, song lyrics. You never know what you might learn, even if it's just a new word you might want to use in a story one day.

Distractions: Looking up stuff while researching something or by using up an ingredient in the fridge to make or bake something.

Other Awards:

• Children's Book Award Notable Book (International Reading Association): Suki's Kimono
• Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association's Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Picture Book): Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin
• Junior Library Guild's Gold Standard Selection Award: Ojiichan's Gift

Upcoming: Manuscripts in development

Chris Haughton

From: Dublin, Ireland; Now: London, UK
6 Word Memoir: designer who's trying to make stories
Activities: Activities: Read and draw
Distraction: I answer questionnaires when I am supposed to be working! 
Other Awards:

• Dutch Picture Book of the Year 
• Irish Children’s Book of the Year 
• Anderson Book of the Year (Italy)

Next Book: 'Maybe' and a climate change animation

Ame Dyckman

From: Former Army Brat, lived EVERYWHERE! Now: Happy to call NJ home

6 Word Memoir: The twist: I see read people.

Activities: Google, Google, Google, and roller coasters. (Sometimes, at the same time!)

Where do you work?/Distractions: I usually write in the kitchen. (Because the kitchen is closest to the cookie jar.) 2. I deal with distractions by ignor--WAIT! WHAT'S THAT?!

Other Awards:

• Parents Magazine Best Fictional Picture Book (2015): Wolfie the Bunny
• South Carolina Picture Book Award (2018); Horrible Bear!
• Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award (2018): You Don’t Want A Unicorn

Upcoming: You Don’t Want a Dragon!, illustrated by Liz Climo, 2020;  Tiny Barbarian, illustrated by Ashley Spires, 2021; Tiny Barbarian sequel, manuscript in development, 2022.

Christian Robinson

Born in LA, 7 years in SF,  currently living in Sacramento, CA

6 Word Memoir: Eating Flaming Hot Ruffles With Chopsticks

Activities: I find a lot of inspiration from antique stores and yard sales.

Distraction/Neat or Messy?:  I work out of my art studio, which is actually the tiny garage behind my house. I clean my entire space before making a new piece of art. So neat. Very neat. Pathologically neat. 

Other Awards:

• Caldecott Honor: Last Stop in Market Street
• Coretta Scott King Honor
• 2019 NYT Best Illustrated Book of the Year: Another

Upcoming: You Matter, (my first solo picture book with words) June 2, 2020; Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña, (third book with Matt)  February 2021.

Hyewon Yum

Hyewon Yum

From: Seoul, Korea; Now: Brooklyn, NY

6 Word Memoir: Wish I could cackle more

Activities: Reading and watching movies

Neat or messy: I clean my desk every 3 months.

Other Awards:

• Golden Kite award: Clever Little Witch
• Charlotte Zolotow Award: Saturday is Swimming Day
• Society of Illustrators’ Founder’s Award: There Are No Scary Wolves

Upcoming: Lion Needs a Haircut, May 5, 2020

Meg Medina

From: Cuba; Grew up in NYC; Now: Richmond, VA.

6 Word Memoir: Muchacha shaping stories for all kids

Activities: I garden to remind myself that life is stubborn and dirty and beautiful all at once.

Procrastination: When I am stuck, I stand in front of the pantry and eat potato chips out of the bag.

Other Awards:

• 2014 The Pura Belpré Award: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass
• 2019 John D. Newbery Medal: Merci Suárez Changes Gears
• Pura Belpré Honor Award: Mango, Abuela and Me

Upcoming: Evelyn Del Rey is Moving Away, Sept 2020 Merci Suáarez Can't Dance, 2021.

Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

From: St. Louis, MO; Now: Taos, New Mexico

6 Word Memoir: Barefoot in mountains, listening to stars

Activities: Read everyday and play with my kids

Distraction: First I clean, then I make a wild, colorful mess.

Other Awards:

• South Asian Book Award: Same, Same but Different
• CLC Book Award.
• Green Prize for Sustainable Literature: Luna & Me

Upcoming: Papa Brings Me the World, May 2020, Christy Ottaviano Books.

Laurel Croza

From: Canada; Now: Toronto

6 Word Memoir: Me, born to be a momma.

Activities: Read - I was a reader way before I was a writer.

Neat or Messy: My desk right now - laptop, fave dictionary, fave thesaurus, piles and piles of sticky notes - is messy.

Other Awards:

• Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award
• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

Upcoming: Manuscript in development

Tao Nyeu

From: Upstate NY; Now: Southern California.

6 Word Memoir: Where is the leftover birthday cake?

Activities: Knitting and reading about brains.

Distractions: Distractions win. Procrastination: Hang on a sec...

Other Awards:

●  Wonder Bear, Society of Illustrators’ 2008 Founders Award

Taeeun Yoo

From: Korea; Now: Seoul

6 Word Memoir: Drawing at cafe with endless coffee

Activities: playing with print textures

Where do you work?/Distraction: I work at home and often draw at cafe.  I clean and organize my studio and kitchen.

Other Awards:

• Society of the Illustrator Founders Award, The Little Red Fish
• New York Times Best Children's Book Award, Only A Witch Can Fly
• New York Times Best Children's Book Award, Here Is the Baby

Upcoming: When the Storm Comes, May 2020

Stian Hole

From and Now: Oslo, Norway, Scandinavia, Europe, Planet Earth (third planet from the sun)

6 Word Memoir: Do you know how it feels?

Activities: Work with stage design for theatre plays

Distraction: My image-processing mind is always working. Distractioctions happen all the time. I try to sort things out and look for connections.

Other Awards:

• Deutsche Jugendliteraturpreis: Garmann´s Summer
• Norwegian Brage award
• Bologna Ragazzi Award

Upcoming: The Clown Who Really Wasn't Very Funny by Kim Fupz Aakeson

Shadra Strickland

From: Atlanta, GA. Now: Baltimore, MD

6 Word Memoir: Coffee...work...and everything in between.

Activities: I read and teach. Both fuel the creative fire.

Where do you work? I have a studio and an office in my home. I paint and draw in the studio and work digitally in my office.

Procrastination: I procrastinate by working on too many projects at a time (productive procrastination)

Other Awards:

• Bird, Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award
• Our Children Can Soar, NAACP Image Award

Upcoming: I'm illustrating my first authored book titled Jump In.

Jonathan Bean

From/Now: Providence, RI

6 Word Memoir: Country mouse, city mouse, town mouse

Activities:Draw from observation, play chess, read!

Distractions: Indulge them! Neat or messy? Neat then messy, neat then messy, neat. . .  

Procrastination: Play chess!

Other Awards:

• At Night and Building Our House, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Charlotte Zolotow Award runner up,
• Big Snow, Charlotte Zolotow Award book of note

Upcoming: Authoring and illustrating New Friend, New Home. Fall 2021

Kristen Balouch

I moved around the US as a child

6 Word Memoir: dreamy child, big city, still dreamy  sleeping in a field—under stars

Activities: I like to read and I like to make things.

Where do you work?/Neat or Messy?: In the summer time I work in my hammock. It doesn't look like work. But it is! I am messy. I like to see all my things around me, but my drawers are pretty organized.

Other Awards:

• Golden Kite Award for Illustration: The King & the Three Thieves 
• CCBC Best Book of the Year: Charlotte Zolotow Commended: Mystery Bottle  
• Middle East Book Award
• Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year 

Upcoming: 1 Million Trees, Fall 2021

Janice N. Harrington

From and Now: South Midwest

6 Word Memoir: Girl story lover: now woman storyteller

Activities: Long walks and raiding my local libraries

Where do you work: I write In a small upstairs room crowded with books, paper, notebooks, files, my letter writing boxes, files, and a comfortable rocking chair.

Other Awards:

• The Charlotte Zolotow Award: The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County
• Arnold Adoff Poetry Award Honor: Catching a Storyfish

Upcoming: A new children's biography and verse novel

Ana Juan

From: Valencia ( Spain); Now: Madrid (Spain)

6 Word Memoir: Under bed listening steps then, silence...

Activities: I am a storyteller and nothing can´t be funnier for me than telling stories through pictures.

Distraction/Neat or Messy? Anywhere, anytime...  I am messy neat.

Other Awards:

• The National Illustration Prize 2010 awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture.

Upcoming: The secret Life of Cats, Lunwerg Publishers, Fall 2020

Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

From: St. Louis, MO; Now: Taos, New Mexico

6 Word Memoir: Barefoot in mountains, listening to stars

Activities: Read everyday and play with my kids

Distraction: First I clean, then I make a wild, colorful mess.

Other Awards:

• South Asian Book Award: Same, Same but Different
• CLC Book Award.
• Green Prize for Sustainable Literature: Luna & Me

Upcoming: Papa Brings Me the World, May 2020, Christy Ottaviano Books.

Gabi Swiatkowska

From: Spun in Poland threading through America and France

6 Word Memoir: I am on my way to where i am already

Activities: I stare at things and talk with people.

Where do you work: in my head, mostly.   

Distractions: I celebrate them and make them into oeuvres. Neat or messy?: ooh, but why define oneself as either?

Upcoming: Picture due to come out when done, which will still take a while. Very labour intensive so... 

Shirin Yim Bridges

From: Malaysia; Live: Silicon Valley

6 Word Memoir: Read, write, paint; Always doing two.

Activities: I travel and learn languages. Right now, it's Greek.

Neat or messy: I am neat. They say creative people are messy, but I hope I prove otherwise, because the first thing I do when I get up is make my bed!

Other Awards:

• Top 10 Children's Book by TIME/CNN (2008): Umbrella Queen  
• Top 10 Nonfiction Series for Youth by the ALA (2012): The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Dastardly Dames
• International Reading Association Children's Choice Award (2013): Horrible Hauntings 

Upcoming: Get Up, Elizabeth, September 9, 2020.

Deborah Wiles

From: A military kid from the South, D.C. area; Now: Georgia

6 Word Memoir: I write for a ten-year-old me, mostly.

Activities: I listen to audiobooks and cook from scratch.

Neat or Messy? I'm a messy writer. I clean up during revision.

Other Awards:

• Two-time National Book Award finalist
• Jane Addams Peace Award honoree
• NAACP Image Award honoree
• E.B. White Read-Aloud Award winner

Upcoming: Kent State, April 2020, my first YA novel.

Soyung Pak

From: South Korea; Now: New Jersey

Activities: Read! Daydream!

Where do you work?/Distraction: I work in my messy home office. I get distracted by everyday life because I have three kids and a dog.

Other Awards:

• I have a vague memory of something small but I don't remember what it is

Upcoming: I just published a pet project and I am working on finishing a novel

Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

From and Now: Wisconsin, WI

6 Word Memoir: Reading Runner Mothering Girls, Books, Cats

Activities: Reading, Traveling

Procrastinate: By leaving things until I've nearly run out of time.

Other Awards:

• Nebraska Golden Sower Award: The Compound
• Connecticut Nutmeg Award & Missouri Truman Award: The Raft

Upcoming: I'm working on an adult thriller.

Cari Best

From: New York; Now: Connecticut

6 Word Memoir: I came. I saw. I stayed.

Activities: Dance wildly on FaceTime. Drive Matchbox cars. 

Where do you work: I work neatly and daily at my desk no matter what

Other Awards:

• Three Cheers: Catherine the Great - 
• Charlotte Zolotow Honor & Amanda Bloomer Award: Sally Jean the Bicycle Queen   
• Goose's Story Henry Bergh Award (SPCA)

Upcoming: I'm Brave! I'm Strong! I'm Five!,  2019; manuscripts in development

Yoriko Tsutsui

Yoriko Tsutsui: Award

From: Tokyo Now: Miyagi prefecture

6 Word Memoir: Sky, wind and child bring story

Activities: Walking the forest, listening to nostalgic songs and watching children.

Distractions: Making delicious foods that I want to have at that time. Neat or messy? Usually, I’m messy, sometimes I’m so neat.  Procrastination: I discontinue the work. Then I go blank my mind.  I stare at sky and listen to twitter of the bird.

Other Awards:

• I have only received the Keats Foundation award. It is the greatest honor of my life.

Upcoming: "At a town with four parks" Serialized in the Fukuinkan Shoten monthly magazine. 

"Haha no tomo(mother’s friend)" The story of children who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake. I hope it will be a book someday, but I'm not sure if my dream will come true.

Juanita Havill

From: Mt. Carmel, IL; Now: Arizona

6 Word Memoir: Wednesday's child and full of joy.

Activities: I walk alone while working on poems. Walking with a dog is an adventure. I have been inspired more times than I care to admit while ironing.

Where do you do your work? I have a home office. One of the pleasures of working at home is not having to wear shoes (I have to watch out for scorpions).