Short Bio
Erin Entrada Kelly is a two-time Newbery Medalist, Newbery Honoree, and National Book Award Finalist whose work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She is a New York Times-bestselling author and is on the founding faculty of the MFA in Writing for Young Readers program at the University of San Francisco. She has a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from McNeese State University, an MFA in fiction from Rosemont College, and an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Moore College of Art and Design. A native of Louisiana, she now lives in Delaware.
Long Bio
Erin Entrada Kelly has received numerous awards and recognition for her work, including the 2025 Newbery Medal for The First State of Being, 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe, a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, the 2023 NAIBA Book of the Year Award for Those Kids From Fawn Creek, and the 2017 APALA Award for The Land of Forgotten Girls, among many other honors. She is also a National Book Award Finalist and author/illustrator of Marisol Rainey and Felix Powell, stand-alone stories for younger readers. Her books are New York Times bestsellers.
Before becoming a children's author, Erin worked as a journalist and magazine editor in her home state of Louisiana. She received numerous awards from the Louisiana Press Association and the Associated Press for community service journalism, feature writing, and editing. She has published more than thirty short stories and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Philippines Free Press Award for Short Fiction.
Erin has a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from McNeese State University, an MFA in fiction from Rosemont College, and an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Moore College of Art and Design. She is on the founding faculty of the Master's in Writing for Young Readers program at the University of San Francisco. A Louisiana native, she now lives in Delaware.
