Eve Bunting was born and educated in Northern Ireland. In 1958 she came to the United States with her husband and three children and settled in California. She has written more than 100 books ranging from picture books to young adult novels, many with socially-conscious themes. Her many awards include two California Young Readers Medals and similar awards from twenty-eight states. Her book Dandelions, illustrated by Greg Shed, received the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year Award, the IRA Teachers' Choice Award, and was an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists. Ms. Bunting is the author of the Caldecott Award-winning Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz, which was also an ALA Notable, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and a Parent's Choice Award winner. She was awarded the 1997 Regina Medal, given by the Catholic Library Association for "continued distinguished contribution to children's literature," and was especially honored to receive a "Heal the World Award" given to her by school children for Fly Away Home. A writing teacher at the University of California, Los Angeles, Ms. Bunting is on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and The Writer magazine. She lives in Pasadena, California.

Eve Bunting was a featured panel speaker at the Virginia Hamilton Conference in 1998.

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ELulu Delacre is an author and illustrator of children's books, whose art has been exhibited in Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and New York.  She graduated with high honors from L'Ecole Superieure d'Arts Graphiques in Paris, France, where she earned a full scholarship for academic achievements.  Born and raised in Puerto Rico, she has been creating bilingual books that stem from her heritage.  Her book Vejigante Masquerader, earned the 1993 American Book Award and was a 1994 National Council of Teachers of English notable selection.  Lulu Delacre lives in Silver Springs, Maryland, with her husband and two daughters.

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When asked about his work, Tom Feelings says, "I am a storyteller in picture form who tries to reflect and interpret the lives and experiences of the people who gave me life. When I am asked who I am, I say I am an African who was born in America. Both answers connect me specifically with my past and present... therefore, I bring to my art a quality which is rooted in the culture of Africa... and expanded by the experience of being black in America." For more than twenty years, Tom Feelings has established a tradition of making award-winning books for children and young adults. He received Caldecott honors for Mojo Means One: A Swahili Counting Book and Jambo Means Hello: A Swahili Alphabet Book, both written by Muriel Feelings, as well as a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award three times, most recently for his haunting masterpiece, The Middle Passage, a project which took twenty years to complete. A retired art professor, Mr. Feelings lives in Columbia, South Carolina.

Tom Feelings was a featured panel speaker at the Virginia Hamilton Conference in 1998.

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Jan Spivey Gilchrist had been a painter and art educator for nearly twenty years before she entered the children's book field in 1988, by illustrating Lessie Jones Little's Children of Long Ago. That same year she received the Coretta Scott King Award for her black and white pencil illustrations in Nathaniel Talking, a collection of poems by Eloise Greenfield. Her other collaborations with Eloise Greenfield include First Pink Light, I Make Music, My Daddy and I, William and the Good Old Days, and Night on Neighborhood Street, a poetry collection which was named a Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book for both writing and illustration. Her artwork also graces Lucille Clifton's Everett Anderson's Christmas Coming, Sharon Bell Mathis's Red Dog Blue Fly: Football Poems (an American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists"), and James Weldon Johnson's Lift Every Voice and Sing. Ms. Gilchrist has exhibited her work in galleries throughout North America. In 1992 she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Eastern Illinois University.

Ms. Gilchrist was a featured panel speaker at the Virginia Hamilton Conference in 1997.

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Jerry Pinkney, recipient of the second annual Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, has been illustrating children's books for more than 35 years. He has the rare distinction of being the recipient of four Caldecott Honor Medals; namely, for John Henry by Julius Lester, The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci, Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia McKissack, and most recently The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. He has received the Coretta Scott King Award four times and a Coretta Scott King Honor Award twice. Many of his books have been cited as notable books by the American Library Association and the National Council of Social Studies/Children's Book Council. In 1990, Tales of Uncle Remus by Julius Lester was recognized as one of the best books of the decade by Booklist. In addition to The Ugly Duckling, he has recently illustrated Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl as well as Julius Lester's Black Cowboy, Wild Horses and Barbara Diamond Golden's Journeys of Elijah: Eight Tales of the Prophet. He has also designed postage stamps for the United States Postal Service Black Heritage Series and was part of the artistic team for the space shuttle Columbia. He has said of his work that his goal is "to continue acting as a role model, sharing my time with young artists and children. As for the work itself, my interest is in doing more multicultural projects."

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