2016 Generation Genius: Authors
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016
ON CAMPUS AUTHORS
RSVP INFO INCLUDED
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Hello!
This year we are only accepting RSVPs online for Miami Book Fair’s Generation
Genius Author sessions on Friday, November 18. This booklet contains information
on each author’s presentation. Before you RSVP, please note the session times,
and allow at least 30 minutes between sessions, taking into account travel time
to and from Downtown Miami.
Please be aware that submitting the form does not automatically guarantee
your space in an author session. You must receive a confirmation email from
Marci Cancio-Bello in order to guarantee that your space is reserved.
Space is limited and RSVPs are booked on a first-come, first-served basis.
To RSVP, please visit https://mdcmarketing.wufoo.com/forms/miami-book-fair-
2016-generation-genius-authors/
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact:
Marci Cancio-Bello
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (305) 237-7889
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
ELEMENTARY
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
UPSIDE-DOWN MAGIC
(BOOK 1)
SARAH MLYNOWSKI
It’s never easy when your magic goes wonky.
For Nory, this means that instead of being able to
turn into a dragon or a kitten, she turns into both
of them at the same time—a dritten.
For Elliott, the simple act of conjuring fire from his
fingertips turns into a fully frozen failure.
For Andres, wonky magic means he’s always
floating in the air, bouncing off the walls, or sitting
on the ceiling.
For Bax, a bad moment of magic will turn him into
a . . . actually, he’d rather not talk about that.
Nory, Elliott, Andres, and Bax are just four of the
students in Dunwiddle Magic School’s Upside-
Down Magic class. In their classroom, lessons are
unconventional, students are unpredictable, and
magic has a tendency to turn wonky at the worst
possible moments. Because it’s always amazing,
the trouble a little wonky magic can cause . . .
Sarah Mlynowski is the New York Times bestselling
author of the Whatever After series, the Magic in
Manhattan series, Gimme a Call, and a bunch of
other books for tweens and teens, including the
Upside-Down Magic series, which she is co-writing
with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins. Originally
from Montreal, Sarah now lives in the kingdom of
Manhattan with her very own prince charming
and their fairy-tale-loving daughters. Visit Sarah
online at www.sarahm.com and find her on
Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at
@sarahmlynowski.
Session Time:
10 – 11 a.m.
Upper Elementary
Age Range: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 3rd – 7th
Series: Upside-Down Magic
Room: Wembly
Wordsmith’s Storytorium
Capacity: 150
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
10 – 11 a.m.
Upper Elementary
Age Range: 8 - 12
Grade Level: 3rd – 7th
Series: Frank Einstein
Room 3210 Capacity: 700
FRANK EINSTEIN AND THE EVOBLASTER BELT
(BOOK 4)
Jon Scieszka
Kid-genius and inventor Frank Einstein loves
figuring out how the world works by creating
household contraptions that are part science,
part imagination, and definitely unusual. In the
series opener, an uneventful experiment in his
garage-lab, a lightning storm, and a flash of
electricity bring Frank’s inventions—the robots
Klink and Klank—to life! Not exactly the ideal lab
partners, the wisecracking Klink and the overly
expressive Klank nonetheless help Frank attempt
to perfect his inventions. In the fourth book in the
series, Frank—along with his best friend, Watson,
and Klink and Klank—once again finds himself in
competition with his classmate and archrival T.
Edison and his sign-language-speaking sidekick,
Mr. Chimp, over Frank’s newest invention: the
EvoBlaster Belt, which allows the user to evolve
and devolve into other forms of life, blasting from
one species to another.
Jon Scieszka’s books have sold more than 11
million copies. He is the author of The Stinky
Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, The
True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, the Time Warp Trio
series, the Spaceheadz series, and most
recently, Battle Bunny, coauthored by Mac
Barnett. In 2008, Scieszka was named the
inaugural National Ambassador for Young
People’s Literature by the Library of Congress. He
is also the founder of Guys Read, a web-based
literacy program for boys. Scieszka lives in
Brooklyn, New York.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
10 – 11 a.m.
Upper Elementary
Age Range: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 3rd – 7th
Room: Live Arts Lab
Capacity: 125
THE CREEPY CASE FILES OF MARGO MALOO
DREW WEING
Charles just moved to Echo City, and some of his
new neighbors give him the creeps. They sneak
into his room, steal his toys, and occasionally, they
try to eat him.
The place is teeming with monsters!
Lucky for Charles, Echo City has Margo Maloo,
monster mediator. No matter who’s causing
trouble, Margo knows exactly what to do―the
neighborhood kids say monsters are afraid of her.
It's a good thing, because Echo City's trolls, ogres,
and ghosts all have one thing in common: they
don't like Charles very much.
Drew Weing lives in Athens, GA with his wife,
fellow cartoonist Eleanor Davis, and too many
cats. He makes comics for print and online,
among which are the nautical graphic novel Set
to Sea, and the kid-friendly webcomic The
Creepy Casefiles of Margo Maloo. His most
recent book is the early reader comic, Flop to the
Top, which he co-authored with his wife.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Upper Elementary
Age Range: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 3rd – 7th
Series:
The Unbelievable FIB
Room 3209
Capacity: 150
THE UNBELIEVABLE FIB:
OVER THE UNDERWORLD
(BOOK 2)
ADAM SHAUGHNESSY
It’s been a year since friends ABE and Pru joined
Mister Fox’s Fantasy Investigation Bureau––
otherwise known as the Unbelievable FIB––to save
their hometown from an invasion of Viking gods
and giants. Life has been incredibly ordinary ever
since. But that’s all about to change when the
Norse Allfather, Odin, appears with terrible news:
Baldur, his favorite son, has been murdered. It’s
the first step in a fated chain of events that leads
to Ragnarok––the end of the world. ABE and Pru
outrun trolls, explore Asgard and the Viking
underworld, and try to outsmart the Queen of the
Dead herself to change fate, save the world––
and survive seventh grade.
Adam Shaughnessy is the author of The
Unbelievable FIB books, published by Algonquin
Young Readers. His debut novel, The entirely True
Story of the Unbelievable FIB, was selected for the
2015 Middle Grade Buzz Panel at BookExpo
America, and was chosen by the American
Booksellers Association for both the Indies
Introduce list and the Indies Next list. Adam is also
an educator who visits schools, afterschools, and
libraries with his original and innovative Adventure
Play programs, which feature interactive stories
that unfold through a blend of storytelling and
games. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Jane,
and cat, Sydney.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
1 – 2 p.m.
Middle School
Age Range: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 3rd – 7th
Series: Story Thieves
Room: Wembly
Wordsmith’s Storytorium
Capacity: 150
STORY THIEVES: THE STOLEN CHAPTERS
(BOOK 2)
JAMES RILEY
Owen Conners would never jump into a
mystery. There are too many hidden clues,
twists that make no sense, and an ending
you never see coming. Mysteries are just not
Owen’s thing. So how exactly did he end up
in one with his memory erased? And that’s
far from the only question.
How did Kiel Gnomenfoot, boy magician,
lose all of his magic? Where’s Bethany, their
half-fictional friend? And who’s the annoying
guy wearing the question mark mask and
Sherlock Holmes hat, taunting Owen and Kiel
that Bethany is in grave danger?
Bethany is trapped in a hidden room that’s
slowly filling with water, and she can’t
escape until her friends find her. But is she
imprisoned by more than just chains and a
locked door? What’s she hiding from Owen
and Kiel?
Maybe some mysteries just shouldn’t be
solved…
James Riley lives in Virginia. He is the author
of Half Upon a Time, Twice Upon a Time,
and Once Upon the End as well as the Story
Thieves series.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Upper Elementary
Age Range: 9 – 12
Grade Level: 4th – 7th
Series: Serefina
Room: Wembly
Wordsmith’s Storytorium
Capacity: 150
SERAFINA AND THE TWISTED STAFF
(BOOK 2)
ROBERT BEATTY
Half catamount, half human, Serafina finds herself
caught between her two worlds: she's too wild for
the Biltmore Estate's beautifully dressed ladies and
formal customs, and too human to fully join her
kin. Late one night, Serafina encounters a strange
and terrifying figure in the forest, and is attacked
by the vicious wolfhounds that seem to be under
his control. Even worse, she's convinced that the
stranger was not alone, that he has sent his
accomplice into Biltmore in disguise. Someone is
wreaking havoc at the estate. A mysterious series
of attacks test Serafina's role as Biltmore's
protector, culminating in a tragedy that tears
Serafina's best friend and only ally, Braeden
Vanderbilt, from her side. For Serafina to defeat
this new evil before it engulfs her beloved home,
she must search deep inside herself and embrace
the destiny that has always awaited her.
Robert Beatty lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of
Asheville, North Carolina with his wife and three
daughters who help create and refine his stories.
He loves to explore the grand Biltmore Estate and
the darkened forest trails where his novels take
place. Mr. Beatty's Disney-Hyperion novel Serafina
and the Black Cloak became a New York Times
bestseller the first week it was launched. He writes
full-time now, but in his past lives, he was one of
the early pioneers of cloud computing as the
founder/CEO of Plex Systems, the co-founder of
Beatty Robotics, and the chairman/CTO of
Narrative Magazine. In 2007, he was named an
Entrepreneur of the Year.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Upper Elementary
Age Range: 9 – 12
Grade Level: 4th – 7th
Room 6100
Capacity: 100
THE HAUNTING OF FALCON HOUSE
EUGENE YELCHIN
A long undisturbed bedroom. A startling
likeness. A mysterious friend.
When twelve-year-old Prince Lev Lvov goes to
live with his aunt at Falcon House, he takes his
rightful place as heir to the Lvov family estate.
Prince Lev dreams of becoming a hero of Russia
like his great ancestors. But he'll discover that
dark secrets haunt this house. Prince Lev is the
only one who can set them free-will he be the
hero his family needs?
Eugene Yelchin is the author and illustrator
of Arcady's Goal and the Newbery Honor
book Breaking Stalin's Nose. Born and educated
in Russia, he left the former Soviet Union when
he was twenty-seven years old. Mr. Yelchin has
also illustrated several books for children,
including Crybaby, Who Ate All the Cookie
Dough? and Won Ton. He lives in California with
his wife and children.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
MIDDLE SCHOOL
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Middle School
Age Range: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 3rd – 7th
Series: Secret Coders
Room 3210
Capacity: 700
SECRET CODERS: PATHS & PORTALS
(BOOK 2)
GENE LUEN YANG
There's something lurking beneath the surface of
Stately Academy―literally. In a secret
underground classroom Hopper, Eni, and Josh
discover that the campus was once home to the
Bee School, an institute where teachers, students,
and robots worked together to unravel the
mysteries of coding. Hopper and her friends are
eager to follow in this tradition and become top-
rate coders. But why are Principal Dean and the
rugby team suddenly so interested in their
extracurricular activities? From graphic novel
superstar (and high school computer
programming teacher) Gene Luen Yang comes
the second volume of Secret Coders, Paths &
Portals, a wildly entertaining new series that
combines logic puzzles and basic programming
instruction with a page-turning mystery plot!
Gene Luen Yang has written and drawn many
comics, including the hit Avatar: The Last
Airbender series. American Born Chinese was a
National Book Award finalist, as well as the winner
of the Printz Award and an Eisner Award. He also
won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Boxers &
Saints. Yang lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
1 – 2 p.m.
Middle School
Age Range: 8 – 12
Grade Level: 3rd – 7th
Series: Lock and Key
Room 3210
Capacity: 700
LOCK AND KEY: THE INITIATION
(BOOK 1)
RIDLEY PEARSON
Ridley Pearson brings us the riveting first tale of
the Lock and Key trilogy about the origins of the
rivalry Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty, told
from the perspective of James’s observant little
sister, Moria. Before James grew up to be a
ruthless, remorseless villain, he was a curious boy
from Boston, with a penchant for trouble and an
acid tongue. Thrown into a boarding school
against his wishes, James winds up rooming with
a most unlikely companion: a lanky British know-it-
all named Sherlock Holmes (―Lock‖ to his friends).
An heirloom Bible, donated by the Moriarty family
more than a hundred years ago, has gone
missing, and it doesn’t take long for the two to
find themselves embroiled in the school-wide
scandal. The school is on lockdown until it’s
found, strange clues keep finding their way to
James, and a secret society lurks behind it all.
Ridley Pearson is the bestselling author of over
fifty novels, including Peter and the
Starcatchers (cowritten with Dave Barry) and the
Kingdom Keepers. He has also written two dozen
crime novels, including Probable Cause, Beyond
Recognition, Killer Weekend, The Risk Agent,
and The Red Room. To learn more about him, visit
www.ridleypearson.com.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
11 a.m. – Noon
Middle School
Age Range: 9 – 12
Grade Level: 4th – 7th
Series: Miles Taylor and the
Golden Cape
Room 3209
Capacity: 150
RISE OF THE ROBOT ARMY
(BOOK 2)
ROBERT VENDITTI
Master the golden cape. Been there. Save
the world from an alien invasion. Done that.
Battle an army of super-deadly robots
designed to destroy you. Sure didn’t see that
one coming. After a summer of fighting
crime, Miles Taylor is bummed that nothing
has changed for him at Chapman Middle
School. Sure, he may be in the eighth grade
now and have a secret identity as Gilded,
the world’s only superhero, but that doesn’t
protect him from the Jammer’s bullying or
make him any more deserving of Josie’s
affection. Miles starts spending more and
more time as Gilded, neglecting his
schoolwork and his friends. It’s not long
before his bad attitude lands him and his
best friend, Henry, in a military compound, at
the mercy of the power-crazed General
Breckenridge. When the General steals the
golden cape, Miles finds himself back at
square one with no superpowers...and no
hope of escape. On the verge of losing
everything—and everyone—he cares about,
Miles must discover the hero within himself
before the General puts his evil plans into
action.
Robert Venditti is the New York
Times bestselling author of numerous comics
and graphic novels. He has written the
monthly adventures of Green Lantern and
the Flash, as well as the graphic novelizations
for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians
and Heroes of Olympus series. Robert lives in
Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and two
children.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Middle School
Age Range: 9 – 13
Grade Level: 4th – 8th
Series: The Nameless City
Room 3314
Capacity: 150
THE NAMELESS CITY
(BOOK 1)
FAITH ERIN HICKS
Every nation that invades the City gives it a
new name. But before long, new invaders
arrive and the City changes hands once again.
The natives don't let themselves get caught up
in the unending wars. To them, their home is
the Nameless City, and those who try to name
it are forever outsiders. Kaidu is one such
outsider. He's a Dao born and bred—a
member of the latest occupying nation. Rat is
a native of the Nameless City. At first, she hates
Kai for everything he stands for, but his love of
his new home may be the one thing that can
bring these two unlikely friends together. Let's
hope so, because the fate of the Nameless
City rests in their hands.
Faith Erin Hicks is a writer and artist in
Vancouver, British Columbia. Her graphic
novels include Zombies Calling, The War at
Ellsmere, Brain Camp (with Susan Kim and
Laurence Klavan), Friends with Boys, Nothing
Can Possibly Go Wrong (with Prudence Shen),
the Bigfoot Boy series (with J. Torres), The Last of
Us: American Dreams (with Neil Druckmann),
the Eisner Award-winning The Adventures of
Superhero Girl, and the Nameless City series.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Middle School
Age Range: 9 – 14
Grade Level: 4th – 9th
Series: Olympians
Room 2106
Capacity: 275
APOLLO: THE BRILLIANT ONE
(BOOK 8)
GEORGE O’CONNOR
Mighty Apollo is known by all as the god of the
sun, but there's more to this Olympian than a
bright smile and a shining chariot. In the latest
volume of Olympians, New York Times bestselling
author George O'Connor continues to turn his
extensive knowledge of the original Greek myths
into rip-roaring graphic novel storytelling.
George O'Connor is the author of several picture
books, including the New York Times bestseller
Kapow!, Ker-Splash, and Sally and the Some-
thing. His debut graphic novel, Journey into
Mohawk Country, was published by First
Second. O'Connor's current project is The
Olympians, a series of graphic novels for young
readers about Greek Mythology. He is over 7
feet tall, and is the handsomest man in the
world.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
12 – 1 p.m.
Middle School
Age Range: 10 – 14
Grade Level: 5th – 9th
Series: The Odds
Room: MAGIC
Capacity: 150
THE MIGHTY ODDS
(BOOK 1)
AMY IGNATOW
When a sweet nerd, an artsy cartoonist, a social
outcast, and the most popular girl in school are
involved in a mysterious bus accident, this
seemingly random group of kids starts to notice
some very strange abilities they did not have
before. Artsy Martina can change her eye color.
Nerdy Nick can teleport . . . four inches to the left.
Outcast Farshad develops super strength, but
only in his thumbs. And Cookie, the ―It Girl‖ of
school’s most popular clique, has suddenly
developed the ability to read minds . . . when
those minds are thinking about directions. They
are oddly mighty—especially together. This
group—who would never hang out under normal
circumstances—must now combine all of their
strengths to figure out what happened during the
bus accident. With alternating narratives from
each of the heroes, including illustrated pieces
from Martina, and featuring bold female
superheroes and a multicultural cast, The Mighty
Odds is The Breakfast Club for a new generation.
Amy Ignatow is the author/illustrator of the
acclaimed series The Popularity Papers. She is a
graduate of Moore College of Art and Design
and lives in Philadelphia with her husband and
their children.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Middle School
Age Range: 10 – 14
Grade Level: 5th – 9th
Room 6100
Capacity: 100
THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON
KELLY BARNHILL
Every year, the people of the Protectorate
leave a baby as an offering to the witch who
lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will
keep her from terrorizing their town. But the
witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her
home with a wise Swamp Monster and a
Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children
and delivers them to welcoming families on the
other side of the forest, nourishing the babies
with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan
accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead
of starlight, filling the ordinary child with
extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must
raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own.
As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her
magic begins to emerge—with dangerous
consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from
the Protectorate is determined to free his
people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with
uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano,
quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the
earth’s surface. And the woman with the
Tiger’s heart is on the prowl . . .
Kelly Barnhill writes novels for children and short
stories for adults and poetry that she whispers in
the dark when no one is listening. Both her most
recent novel, The Witch's Boy, and her first
novel, The Mostly True Story of Jack, received
four-star reviews, and her second, Iron Hearted
Violet, received a Parents’ Choice Gold
Award. Kelly has received grants and awards
from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the
Jerome Foundation, Intermedia Arts, and the
Loft. She has three very smart kids and one very
smart husband.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
HIGH SCHOOL
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
High School
Age Range: 12 – 17
Grade Level: 7th – 11th
Series: Black Widow
Room 3314
Capacity: 150
BLACK WIDOW: RED VENGEANCE
(BOOK 2)
MARGARET STOHL
Black Widow: Red Vengeance is the action-
packed sequel to the instant New York Times
best-seller, Black Widow: Forever Red. This
time, author Margaret Stohl takes readers
inside the minds of Marvel's most cunning and
dangerous spies—Black Widow and Red
Widow—delving deeper into their powers will
reveal more than ever before about the
infamous assassin and her fledgling hero-in-
training.
Margaret Stohl is the #1 New York Times best-
selling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures
series. Her solo books include Icons, Idols,
and Black Widow: Forever Red. Before writing
her first novel, Stohl was a veteran of the
video-game industry, working with Activision
(now Activision Blizzard) and Westwood
Studios (now Electronic Arts). Margaret later
became a cofounder of 7 Studios with her
husband, Lewis Peterson. She has previously
been nominated for Most Innovative Game
Design at the Game Developers Conference.
She lives in Santa Monica, California with her
husband and daughters.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
9:30 – 10:30 p.m.
High School
Age Range: 14 – 18
Grade Level: 9th – 12th
Series: Kill Shakespeare
Room: MAGIC
Capacity: 150
KILL SHAKESPEARE
(BOOK 1)
CONOR McCREERY
What Fables does for fairy tales, Kill
Shakespeare does with the greatest writer of
all time. This dark take on the Bard pits his
greatest heroes (Hamlet, Juliet, Othello
Falstaff) against his most menacing villains
(Richard III, Lady Macbeth, Iago) in an epic
adventure to find and kill a reclusive wizard
named William Shakespeare.
Conor McCreery has served in both creative
and business positions for film and television
companies, contributed over 1,000 stories
and articles for media outlets and also
provided expert analysis for Canada’s
Business News Network.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
High School
Age Range: 14 – 18
Grade Level: 9th – 12th
Series: Star Wars
Room 3209
Capacity: 150
STAR WARS: AHSOKA
E. K. JOHNSTON
Fans have long wondered what happened to
Ahsoka after she left the Jedi Order near the
end of the Clone Wars, and before she re-
appeared as the mysterious Rebel operative
Fulcrum in Rebels. Finally, her story will begin to
be told. Following her experiences with the Jedi
and the devastation of Order 66, Ahsoka is
unsure she can be part of a larger whole ever
again. But her desire to fight the evils of the
Empire and protect those who need it will lead
her right to Bail Organa, and the Rebel
Alliance.
E. K. Johnston had several jobs and one
vocation before she became a published
writer. If she’s learned anything, it’s that things
turn out weird sometimes, and there’s not a lot
you can do about it. Well, that and how to
muscle through awkward fanfic because it’s
about a pairing she likes. Her books range from
contemporary fantasy (The Story of Owen,
Prairie Fire), to fairy-tale reimaginings (A
Thousand Nights, Spindle), and from small town
Ontario (Exit, Pursued By A Bear), to a galaxy
far, far away (Star Wars: Ahsoka). She has no
plans to rein anything inWhen she's not on
tumblr, she dreams of travel and Tolkien. Or
writes books. It really depends on the weather.
.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
9:30 – 10:30 a.m.
High School
Age Range: 14 – 18
Grade Level: 9th – 12th
Series: Jackaby
Room 6100
Capacity: 100
GHOSTLY ECHOES Capacity: 100
(BOOK 3)
WILLIAM RITTER
“Tread lightly, Miss Rook,” warned Mr.
Jackaby. “It would not do to push Miss
Cavanaugh too far or too fast.”
Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926
Augur Lane, has enlisted the investigative
services of her fellow residents to solve a
decade-old murder—her own. Abigail Rook
and her eccentric employer, R. F. Jackaby,
dive into the cold case, starting with a search
for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the
night she died. But when a new, gruesome
murder closely mirrors the events of ten years
prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that
Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all. Fantasy
and folklore mix with mad science as
Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads
her across the cold cobblestones of
nineteenth-century New England, down to
the mythical underworld, and deep into her
colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most
deadly foe she has ever faced.
William Ritter began writing the Jackaby
series in the middle of the night when his son
was still an infant. After getting up to care for
him, Will would lie awake, his mind creating
rich worlds and fantasiessuch as the one in
New Fiddleham. Will lives and teaches in
Springfield, Oregon.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
10 – 11 a.m.
High School
Age Range: 14 – 18
Grade Level: 9th – 12th
Series: The Amateurs
Room 3314
Capacity: 150
THE AMATEURS
(BOOK 1)
SARA SHEPARD
As soon as Seneca Frazier sees the post on the
Case Not Closed website about Helena Kelly,
she's hooked. Helena's high-profile
disappearance five years earlier is the one that
originally got Seneca addicted to true crime. It's
the reason she's a member of the site in the first
place. So when Maddy Wright, her best friend
from the CNC site, invites Seneca to spend
spring break in Connecticut looking into the
cold case, she immediately packs her bag. But
the moment she steps off the train in trendy,
glamorous Dexby, things begin to go wrong.
Maddy is nothing like she expected, and
Helena's sister, Aerin Kelly, seems completely
hostile and totally uninterested in helping with
their murder investigation. But when Brett,
another super user from the site, joins Seneca
and Maddy in Dexby, Aerin starts to come
around. The police must have missed
something, and someone in Dexby definitely
has information they've been keeping quiet. As
Seneca, Brett, Maddy, and Aerin begin to
unravel dark secrets and shocking betrayals
about the people closest to them, they seem to
be on the murderer's trail at last. But somewhere
nearby the killer is watching . . . ready to do
whatever it takes to make sure the truth stays
buried.
Sara Shepard is the author of two New York
Times bestselling series, Pretty Little Liars and The
Lying Game, as well as the series The
Perfectionists. She graduated from NYU and has
an MFA from Brooklyn College.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
10:30 – 11:30 p.m.
High School
Age Range: 14 – 18
Grade Level: 9th – 12th
Room: MAGIC
Capacity: 150
TETRIS: THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY
BOX BROWN
It is, perhaps, the perfect video game. Simple yet
addictive, Tetris delivers an irresistible, unending
puzzle that has players hooked. Play it long
enough and you’ll see those brightly colored
geometric shapes everywhere. You’ll see them in
your dreams. Alexey Pajitnov had big ideas
about games. In 1984, he created Tetris in his
spare time while developing software for the
Soviet government. Once Tetris emerged from
behind the Iron Curtain, it was an instant hit.
Nintendo, Atari, Sega—game developers big
and small all wanted Tetris. A bidding war was
sparked, followed by clandestine trips to
Moscow, backroom deals, innumerable
miscommunications, and outright theft. New York
Times–bestselling author Box Brown untangles this
complex history and delves deep into the role
games play in art, culture, and commerce. For
the first time and in unparalleled detail, Tetris: The
Games People Play tells the true story of the
world’s most popular video game.
Box Brown is an Ignatz Award-winning cartoonist,
illustrator, and comic publisher from Philadelphia.
His book Andre the Giant: Life and Legend was
released in 2014 and spent three weeks on
the New York Times bestsellers list. His second
graphic novel with publisher First Second is Tetris:
The Games People Play. Brown launched the
independent comics publishing house Retrofit
Comics in 2011.
2016 Generation Genius: Authors
Session Time:
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
High School
Age Range: 14 – 18
Grade Level: 9th – 12th
Room: Live Arts Lab
Capacity: 125
SAVING HAMLET
MOLLY BOOTH
Emma Allen couldn't be more excited to start
her sophomore year. Not only is she the
assistant stage manager for the drama club's
production of Hamlet, but her crush Brandon is
directing, and she's rocking a new haircut that's
sure to get his attention. But soon after school
starts, everything goes haywire. It's up to Emma
to fix it all, but she has no clue where to start.
One night after rehearsal, Emma falls through
the stage's trap door . . . landing in the
basement of the Globe Theater. It's London,
1601, and with her awesome new pixie cut,
everyone thinks Emma's a boy—even Will
Shakespeare himself. With no clue how to get
home, Emma gamely plays her role as
backstage assistant to the original production
of Hamlet, learning a thing or two about the
theater, and meeting an incredibly hot actor
named Alex who finds Emma as intriguing as
she finds him. But once Emma starts traveling
back and forth through time, things get really
confusing. Which boy is the one for her? In
which reality does she belong? And can she
possibly save two disastrous productions
of Hamlet before time runs out?
Molly Booth is a total Shakespeare nerd. She
grew up homeschooled in Massachusetts, and
spent most of her time reading Tamora Pierce
novels and pretending to be Redwall
characters with her four siblings. In high school,
she was a stage manager for three different
community theatres, which almost killed her.
She went to Bunker Hill Community College first,
and then Marlboro College in Vermont, where
she studied writing, literature, and Elizabethan
history. While there, she wrote the first drafts
of Saving Hamlet. Molly now lives in Portland,
ME, with her cat, dog, and one-eyed rat.