Tucson Festival of Books

Creativity in Writing Middle Grade Novels


Two bestselling authors share their processes of creativity in writing middle grade novels and advice about writing in the time of AI. Tracey Baptiste is the author of The Jumbies series and Moko Magic series. Sara Pennypacker is the author of "Pax" and "The Lion's Run."


Panelists
Tracey Baptiste

Tracey Baptiste is a New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six books for children, including the popular Jumbies series (“The Jumbies,” “Rise of the Jumbies,” and “The Jumbie God’s Revenge”) and the picture book “Looking for a Jumbie....

Visit website | Facebook Instagram YouTube TikTok

Sara Pennypacker

Sara Pennypacker is the bestselling author of several acclaimed novels for middle grade readers, including "The Lions' Run," "Pax," "Pax, Journey Home," the Clementine series and its spinoff series, Waylon, and "Summer of the Gypsy Moths," "Here in the Real World" and "Leeva at Last....

Visit website | Twitter Instagram


Books:
Carnival Chaos
Tracey Baptiste
Children
Disney-Hyperion
January 2024
ISBN 9781368074377
400 pages
Buy now

The Lions' Run
Sara Pennypacker
Children
Balzer + Bray
February 2026
ISBN 9781250392817
288 pages
Buy now