Shauntay Grant (she/her) is an author, poet, playwright, and multimedia artist. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia, and is an associate professor of creative writing at Dalhousie University. A former poet laureate for the City of Halifax, her honors include a Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, a Joseph S. Stauffer Prize, and a Poet Of Honour prize from the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Learn more about her at shauntaygrant.com

Kitt Thomas (they/them) is a N­ew York Tim­es be­st-se­lling illustrator and NAACP Image ­Award winner. They are a first-generation Lucian American, an author, and  a graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA in visual studies. Kitt’s mission is to celebrate Black culture with their drawings and to encourage inclusion in all forms of art, as they found it hard to see themself properly represented in the media they enjoyed growing up. Kitt has worked with such companies as Netflix, Hasbro, and Cartoon Network. They live in Cincinnati, Ohio.