Meet Our Faculty

Katie Mazeika is an award-winning author and illustrator who can’t imagine a better job than making books. She loves creating stories based on real people and events. Katie likes to highlight disabled voices in her work. Katie believes all children should see themselves in books and that we should talk about disability and neurodiversity openly rather than treat it as something to be ashamed of. When she’s not drawing, writing or visiting schools and libraries, Katie likes to spend her time gardening or reading other people’s books. Katie currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio. You can see more of Katie's work at katiemazeika.com or follow her on instagram @kdmazart.

Rob Sanders is a teacher who writes and a writer who teaches. A native of Springfield, Missouri and a graduate of Missouri State University, Rob has lived and worked in Texas, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee. He is known for his funny and fierce fiction and is recognized as one of the pioneers in the arena of LGBTQ+ literary nonfiction picture books. Blood Brothers, his first middle grade novel, written in powerful, raw verse released in July 2022 and was selected as a 2023 NCTE Notable Novel in Verse. 2024 releases will include Rob’s first nonfiction poetry collection—Queer and Fearless: Poems Celebrating the Lives of LGBTQ Heroes (Penguin Workshop) and two fiction picture books—Between You and Me (HarperCollins) and We Are a Class! (Beaming Books). Rob is represented by Rubin Pfeffer and Amy Flynn of Aevitas Creative Management. Website: robsanderswrites.com. Facebook and Instagram: RobSandersWrites

Leah Henderson is a writer, mentor, and teacher. Her critically acclaimed books for young readers include The Magic in Changing Your Stars and Together We March, SCBWI Golden Kite Award Finalists, The Courage of the Little Hummingbird and the co-edited anthology A Little Bit Super. Her books have appeared on numerous Best Books lists including the New York Public Library, Bank Street College, and the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature. She holds an MFA in Writing and teaches in Spalding University's graduate writing program and is visiting faculty at Hollins University. Because Leah has serious wanderlust, when she isn’t creating stories, she’s off someplace in the world getting lost, then found, discovering new ones.

Francine Puckly holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a master’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations, both from Cornell University. She is co-founder of and former blogger for 24CarrotWriting.com. A former human resources professional and management consultant, Francine is passionate about the five-year strategic planning process she teaches to creatives who need concrete strategies to tackle their dreams and aspirations. She is a full-time writer/editor for a U.S. military contractor, supporting quality-of-life content for service members and their families and burns the midnight oil writing contemporary and historical young adult fiction. Her debut book, The Word-a-Day Vocabulary Workbook (Adams Media/Simon and Schuster 2021), was completed on a frenzied seventeen-day deadline. She and her family are writers, musicians, composers, and filmmakers. She lives in Massachusetts. When not writing, Francine enjoys taking long walks on rural roads, whipping up gluten-free pastries, playing various musical instruments, and listening to instrumental jazz whenever possible. Find Francine online at francinepuckly.com.

Saba Sulaiman is a Senior Agent at Talcott Notch Literary Services, a boutique agency located in Milford, CT. She holds a BA in Economics and Middle Eastern Studies from Wellesley College and an MA from the University of Chicago, where she studied modern Persian literature. Being an immigrant who is constantly negotiating her own identity and sense of belonging in a place she now calls “home,” she is committed to championing books by writers from marginalized communities with compelling stories to tell; stories that demonstrate the true range of perspectives that exist in this world, and address urgent and often underexplored issues in both fiction and non-fiction with veracity and heart. Twitter/X and Instagram: @agentsaba. For her wishlist, you can find some information https://sabasulaiman.com/representation, but at the moment, I'd say I'm most hungry for humor in all categories, clever, insightful, and well-researched PB non-fiction, and anything (in all categories, fiction and non-fiction) that explores ideas relating to creativity, inspiration, innovation, and what it means to be an artist.

Pooja Makhijani is the author of Mama’s Saris and Bread is Love. She is also the editor of Under Her Skin: How Girls Experience Race in America. Her bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Real Simple, The Atlantic, WSJ.com, The Cut, Teen Vogue, Epicurious, Publishers Weekly, ELLE, Bon Appétit, The Kitchn, BuzzFeed, and Catapult among others. Her essay, "The Path to an American Dream, Paved in Vienna Fingers," was named Notable in The Best American Food Writing 2019. She holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University, Sarah Lawrence College, and Rutgers University. She has twice been in residence at SPACE on Ryder Farm and received a general scholarship from the Highlights Foundation. Pooja is represented by Saba Sulaiman at Talcott Notch Literary Services.

Julie Thompson creates stories that reflect and celebrate the lived experiences of children everywhere. As a mother of two boys, Julie is especially drawn to books that honor Black Boy Joy. She hopes that her stories will encourage open dialogue within families and their communities. Julie's stories are inspired by the people, places, and experiences that have shaped her 27-year career in youth services, community outreach, and law enforcement. In 2025, Julie will release her first middle-grade book “Just Kickin It” With a second middle-grade book scheduled for publication in 2026. Julie lives with her two sons in Toronto, where she teaches breathwork, yoga mindfulness, and meditation.

Julia Moss is a children’s book writer, educator, and mother of three young children, residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can learn more about her at juliamosswrites.com

Rahele Jomepour Bell is an Iranian/American picture book artist who has an M.F.A degree from Iowa State University. She started her profession in the United States in 2016 by collaborating with Face Magazine's Art Director, John Sandford. Rahele has created pictures for fiction and non-fiction children's books such as "Our Favorite Day of the Year," The Treasure Box, To Change A Planet, and Angry Me / Peaceful Me. Different prestigious awards recognize her illustrations, including the SCBWI National Portfolio Grand Prize and the Bologna Illustration Exhibition. Please visit Rahele's work on her website: www.rahelestudio.com

Chelsea Tornetto is a former teacher turned author. Her first book, Conquering Content Vocabulary, was published by Scholastic in 2018, but now her passion is picture books. She is the author of Gardens Are For Growing (Familius 2022) and God Made You Too (WorthyKids 2022), with more titles on the way. When she isn’t working on her own stories, she helps others follow their dreams of writing for children as a freelance editor and author coach for At Home Author. Chelsea lives in Jackson, Missouri with her husband, Mike, and her two kids, Tessa and Milo. She loves snow days, lattes, and Target. She hates spiders, her sinuses, and laundry. You can find her on X and on her website.

Kaz Windness is an award-winning, genre-crossing illustrator and author of funny and heart-warming books for young readers. Proudly neurodivergent (ASD/ADHD), Kaz specializes in character-driven books celebrating inclusivity, grit, and kindness. Her many books include "Swim, Jim!," “Worm and Caterpillar are Friends,” and “Bitsy Bat, School Star.” She is a professor of illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design and founder of The Cuddlefish Academy, where she inspires students to tell stories with pictures. Kaz lives in Colorado with her English teacher husband, two teen children, and a bunny-obsessed Boston Terrier named Remy. Kaz loves making deep-dish pizza from scratch and sketching animals at the zoo.