Meg Medina (she/her/hers)

Meg Medina served as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of many notable and award-winning works for young readers of all ages, including the Newbery Medal,"Merci Suárez Changes Gears". Her most recent books include "My Roller Skates" and "Graciela in the Abyss". Her work examines how cultures intersect through the eyes of young people. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and lives in Richmond, Virginia.

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Awards: Newbery Medal, Pura Belpré Award, Cybil's Award 2014, Ezra Jack Keats Award 2012

Communities: Hispanic or Latinx

Books:

My Roller Skates

Children
Candlewick Press (MA)
March 2027
ISBN 9781536238488
Hardcover, 0 pages

A sweet, relatable, and nuanced story about friendship and sharing from the dream team of award-winning creators Meg Medina and Leo Espinosa. Newbery Medal–winning author Meg Medina and Pura Belpré Honor recipient Leo Espinosa deliver a classic picture book about enjoying something you’ve helped save for, making decisions for yourself, and the essential, messy, and fun moments that come with growing up. Luci’s new roller skates have white boots, sparkly laces, and four wheels that sing on the sidewalk when she glides: Cha-cha-cha! Best of all, they are hers, so she doesn’t even have to share them with her siblings like everything else. Luci loves gliding on her skates while her friend Ray Ray bikes alongside her or plays the bad guy to her superhero. Until, that is, the day Ray Ray asks to try out her skates himself . . . The last thing Luci wants to do is let someone else use her special skates, but she does want to play with her friend. Is there some way they both can enjoy her roller skates? In a gently affirming tale for any child who has had a cherished something of their very own, Meg Medina’s playful storytelling and Leo Espinosa’s charming illustrations remind readers that taking turns is not the same as taking away. More/less

Graciela in the Abyss

Teen
Candlewick Press (MA)
July 2026
ISBN 9781536253009
Paperback, 0 pages

Dive into the abyss with this stunning paperback, featuring printed edges that invite you into the deepest recesses of the ocean, where the sea ghosts lie. "A thrilling, action-packed journey filled with heart, bravery, and ghostly exploits." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Deep under the sea, Graciela—once an ordinary girl—now makes sea glass and assists her friend, Amina, as she welcomes newly awakened sea ghosts from their death sleep. Though Graciela’s spirit is young, she has lived at the bottom of the ocean for more than a hundred years. Meanwhile, in the mortal world on land, twelve-year-old Jorge Leon works in his family’s forge. He’s heard of the supernatural spirits living beneath the ocean’s waves—tales that do nothing to quell his fear of the water. But when Jorge discovers a hand-wrought harpoon with the power to spear a sea ghost, he knows he must destroy it any way he can.When the harpoon is accidentally reunited with its vengeful creator, unlikely allies Graciela and Jorge have no choice but to work together to keep evil spirits from wreaking havoc on both the living and the dead. If only the answer to saving what they care about didn’t lie within the depths of the abyss . . . Newbery Medal winner Meg Medina and illustrators Anna and Elena Balbusso have crafted a thoughtful tale infused with magic and high-stakes adventure that will leave readers wondering what power lies in the depths of the ocean—and inside each of us. More/less