Kaija Langley

Born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, Kaija Langley has been writing since she fell in love with words at age seven. She knew she was onto something when she wrote her first poem and her grade school classmates thought she’d copied it from a book! A proud alumna of Morgan State University, a historically black college and university in Baltimore, Maryland, she received her MFA in fiction from St. Mary’s College of California in 2005. She’s called many places home over the years—New Jersey, Maryland, DC, California, Louisiana—and currently lives, writes, and plays in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her two bonsai and her beloved. Her picture book When Langston Dances and middle-grade novel The Order of Things, have each owon several literary awards.

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Len Cabral 

Len Cabral is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning storyteller and author who has been engaging and entertaining audiences with his storytelling performances for more than four decades. He is the recipient of the National Storytelling Network 2001 Circle of Excellence Oracle Award, Honored by Johnson & Wales University as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in 2000 and the recipient of the 2016 Pell Award, and most recently recipient of the 2023 NABS Brother Blue Circle of Elders Award. This award, named in honor of Dr. Hugh “Brother Blue” Morgan, is given to NABS members as a recognition of their contributions to Black storytelling.

Len is one of the founding members of Providence Inner City Arts/Roots Cultural Center. A founding member of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS). He is on the board of Rhode Island Center for the Book/ Read Across Rhode Island.

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Kaitlyn Derosiers

Kaitlyn Derosiers is a children's book author and co-owner of publishing company, McBryde Books, LLC. Kaitlyn is the author of "I'm A Big Sister!" and "I'm A Big Brother!" These books were inspired by Kaitlyn's first born, who was soon to become a big sister for the first time. Kaitlyn is also the author of the children's coloring book, '"H" is for Haiti: An English and Haitian Creole Alphabet Coloring Book."' Being married to a Haitian American, Kaitlyn was eager to share this rich culture with her daughter. Creating this coloring book allowed Kaitlyn to being exposing her daughter to the language of her father's family. "Wonderfully Made" co-authored by Kaitlyn and her sister, Megan, is a story about two sisters who come from an interracial family. With parents whose skin color doesn't quite look like theirs, these two girls navigate social situations and learn to feel confident in who they are and the family that they love.

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Kaitlyn is also a school psychologist. Her passion is helping children and families. In her free time, Kaitlyn enjoys spending time with her family and friends, visiting new places, trying new foods, and relaxing outside.