Ismée Williams is the award-winning author of the young adult novels Water in May and This Train Is Being Held, a Junior Library Guild Selection, the winner of an International Latino Book Award for Best Young Adult Romance, and a coeditor of the anthology Boundless: Twenty Voices Celebrating Multicultural and Multiracial Identities. Ismée is a cofounder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival, as well as a pediatric cardiologist in New York City, where she lives with her family. She is the daughter of a Cuban immigrant and grew up listening.

Tatiana Gardel is a Brazilian-born illustrator whose work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators in New York and by American Illustration. Her art is inspired by her culture, by her love for nature, and by mythology and childhood memories. She is a co -founder of #LatinxPitch and teaches animation to young artists at the Harlem School of the Arts. Tatiana Gardel lives in New York City with her family.

Ismée Williams is the award-winning author of Water in May (2017) and This Train Is Being Held (2020), a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and winner of the ILBA Gold Medal for best YA Romance, published by Amulet books. Ismée also co-edited the YA anthology, Boundless: Twenty Voices Celebrating Multicultural and Multiracial Identities (2023), published by Inkyard. She has been an invited speaker at The Virginia Festival of the Book, The Miami Book Fair, The NYC Teen Author Festival, The Southern Kentucky Book Festival, and The Bronx Book Festival among others. Ismée is a co-founder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival as well as a pediatric cardiologist in New York City where she lives with her family. She is the daughter of a Cuban immigrant and grew up listening to her abuelo’s bedtime stories.
Tatiana Gardel is a New York City–based artist whose work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and American Illustration. Previous books she illustrated include The First Day of Peace and Abuelo, the Sea, and Me. Tatiana loves to paint and sketch at the green meadows of Central Park, dance to the music of its performers, and go for walks on its lush pathways. She was born and raised in Brazil and teaches animation to young artists at the Harlem School of the Arts.