Look Inside: Making Writers’ Notebooks More Authentic

Melissa Guerrette (she/her) is a National Board Certified Teacher with 25 years of teaching experience in grades 4–6 at Oxford Elementary School (MSAD #17), Maine. She is the 2021 Oxford County Teacher of the Year, a 2022 Maine Teacher of the Year semifinalist, and was recognized with the 2025 Claudette and John Brassil Award for Distinguished Teaching from the Maine Council for English Language Arts. She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Saint Michael’s College and her master’s degree in education from Walden University. She serves on committees related to reading communities, ELA curricula, and teacher leadership locally and across Maine, including as an original member of the Teach Maine Center Executive Team. Her professional passion is empowering students and helping them uncover their identities—as readers, as writers, and as people—for themselves.

Tracey Baptiste is a New York Times bestselling author, best known for the creepy Caribbean Jumbies trilogy. She is also the author of Boy 2.0, African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History, and the graphic nonfiction book Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin: Civil Rights Heroes. Tracey writes fiction and nonfiction picturebooks as well as middle grades, young adult, and graphic novels. She is a former elementary school teacher, curriculum designer, and editor. Tracey travels for school visits anywhere in the world and offers classes and mentorships on her website. Contact her at www.traceybaptiste.com.

Christine Hartman Derr is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Her short fiction is included in Just YA: Short Poems, Essays, & Fiction for Grades 7–12 as well as in the Michael L. Printz Award-winning anthology Legendary Frybread Drive-In. Her debut picturebook, Until We Meet Again: Donadagohvi, and debut novel, Raven, Rising, are forthcoming from Heartdrum/HarperCollins Children’s. Further work can be found on Indigenous Reads Rising, Booklist, and in the Bank Street College of Education's Occasional Paper Series. Originally from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Christine lives in East Tennessee with her spouse, children, and a rambunctious crew of lovable pets with themed names. Learn more at ChristineHartmanDerr.com.

Josh Funk is a software engineer and the author of books like the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, How to Code a Sandcastle, The Dino Door, Dear Dragon, My Pet Feet, the It's Not a Fairy Tale series, Lost in the Library, and more. His books have sold more than half a million copies worldwide and been translated into a dozen languages. He has presented (and virtually presented) at over 1,000 schools and libraries in the last decade+ since his first book was released. For more about Josh, visit joshfunkbooks.com and @joshfunkbooks on socials.

Karina Yan Glaser is a Newbery honoree and the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli, the Vanderbeeker series, the standalone middle grades novel A Duet for Home, and the chapter book Poppy Song Bakes a Way, part of The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class series. Her books have garnered starred reviews, landed on dozens of “Best Book of the Year” lists, and been translated into 14 languages. She lives in Harlem with her husband, two teenagers, and an assortment of pets and houseplants. One of her proudest achievements is raising two kids who can’t go anywhere without a book.

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is the award-winning author of several books—picturebooks through young adult, fiction and nonfiction. She’s a member of The Brown Bookshelf, board member of New York Nature Mobile, NAACP Image Award nominee, and two-time African American Literature Book Club bestseller. She edited The Hero Next Door and contributed to several collections, including We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices and Imagine it Better: Visions of What School Might Be. She was commissioned by the Kennedy Center in 2023 to write the stage adaptation of her novel Operation Sisterhood and has written for various outlets, including PBS Parents. Olugbemisola is a Baldwin for the Arts Fellow, was twice awarded a public service fellowship from the Echoing Green Foundation, and was the 2024 writer-In-residence at Bank Street School for Children. Olugbemisola lives with her family in New York City where she writes, makes things, and needs to get more sleep. Visit her online at olugbemisolabooks.com

Elly Swartz is the award-winning author of seven acclaimed middle grades novels, including Same Page (Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable and recommended by The New York Times), Hidden Truths, Dear Student, Finding Perfect, Give and Take, Smart Cookie, and her newest one, Almost True (1/26/27). Her stories are known for their emotional depth and authenticity, reflecting a strong commitment to raising awareness around mental health and neurodiversity while helping young readers feel seen and understood. Elly lives in Massachusetts. She is married with two grown sons, a grandson, and two pups. She loves connecting with readers online at ellyswartz.com, and on Instagram, Bluesky, and Threads @ellyswartzbooks.

Linda Urban writes picturebooks, chapter books, and middle grades novels. Her works include A Crooked Kind of Perfect, Hound Dog True, Mouse Was Mad, and, most recently, Olive Little Gets Crafty, part of The Kids in Mrs. Z’s Class series. Her books have appeared on more than 25 state reading lists, as well as best books lists from The New York Public Library, Kirkus, NCTE, and IndieNext. Linda is presently the program chair of the Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA in writing for children and young adults. Visit her at www.lindaurbanbooks.com.