Meet the Winners
Adrienne Wright |
Elizabeth Zunon |
Kwei Quartey |
 Edmund Opare, Illus. Nana and Me |
 Elizabeth Wein, Author Black Dove, White Raven |
 Sean Qualls, Illus. Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofasu Yeboah |
 Liz Zunon, illus. One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of The Gambia |
 Miranda Paul, Author One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of The Gambia |
 Isatou Ceesay Special Guest |
Adrienne Wright grew up in South Africa before moving to the United States. Her background of graphic design, art direction and illustration in advertising led to an interest in children’s book illustration. After joining the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, she served as Illustrator Coordinator for their Eastern PA chapter. Her debut book, HECTOR: A BOY, A PROTEST, AND THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT CHANGED APARTHEID, (Page Street Kids, 2019), has earned starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and ALA’s Booklist, is a 2020 ALA (ALSC) Notable Children’s Book, Kirkus Reviews Best of 2019 (Middle Grade Biographies & Memoirs), 2019 Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, and is included on the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature (CSMCL) Best Books of 2019 list. Adrienne lives in Gulph Mills, PA.
Kwei Quartey is a crime fiction writer and retired physician based in Pasadena, California. Quartey was born in Ghana, West Africa, to a Ghanaian father and a black American mother, both of whom were lecturers at the University of Ghana. His novel Wife of the Gods made the Los Angeles Times bestseller list in 2009. The following year, the National Book Club voted him Best Male Author. He has two mystery series set in Ghana: the Detective Inspector Darko Dawson investigations and the Emma Djan investigations.