Meg Medina
Meg Medina is the current National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature. She is an award-winning and New York Times best-selling author who writes picture books, as well as middle grade and young adult fiction. Her works have been called “heartbreaking,” “lyrical” and “must haves for every collection.” Her books include the Suárez family trilogy including Merci Suárez Changes Gears, 2019 John Newbery Medal winner, and 2019 Charlotte Huck Honor Book; Merci Suárez Can’t Dance, one of the 50 most anticipated novels of 2021, according to Kirkus; and Merci Suárez Plays It Cool, which was named a Best Book of 2022 by PARENTS, Kirkus, and The Horn Book magazines. She is a two-time winner of the Pura Belpré award, in 2016 (honor) for her picture book, MANGO, ABUELA AND ME, and in 2014 (fiction medal) for her young adult novel, YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS.
When she’s not writing, Meg works on community projects that support girls, Latino youth, and/or literacy. She is a faculty member of Hamline University’s Masters of Fine Arts in Children’s Literature and lives with her family in Richmond, Virginia.
“When I write now, I pretend I'm holding hands with the old me. I try to make sense of all those questions for her...”
“Take care not to listen to anyone who tells you what you can and can't be in life.”
“Sometimes it's hard to wait for good things to happen. - Tia Isa”
“You never forget the books you loved as a kid. You never forget the poems you memorized, the first book you read until the cover fell off, the book you read hidden from your mother. What an honor to hold hands with a child's imagination in this way.”