A Hero Like Me

Jen Reid grew up in the historic city of Bath, the youngest daughter of Windrush immigrants. Her experiences of racism growing up were first-hand. From being the only Black child in her local primary school in the 1980s, where Jen fully understood what it was like to face inequalities and where racial slurs were commonplace, to moving to London in the 1990s and facing the daily microaggressions that black women suffer in the workplace, throughout her life, Jen has experienced the everyday racism that is ingrained in our society.

Angela Joy was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. Before graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota, she attended New York University and Spelman College. Angela traveled extensively as a background vocalist, also working in television and movie soundtracks. She uses lessons learned in music to write lyrical poetry for children, including Black Is a Rainbow Color and Caldecott Honor Book, Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two children, yet will always consider Minneapolis home. Angela's next book, Ordinary Days: The Seeds, Sound, and City that Grew Prince Rogers Nelson is due for release in Fall, 2023.

Leire Salaberria was born in Andoain (Spain) in 1983. Currently, she lives and works in San Sebastián. She has majored in Fine Arts in Bilbao and studied a postgraduate in Children Illustration in Barcelona. Leire has exhibited her artwork in different countries around the world. Her work has been selected to appear in Bologna Children's Book Fair 2012, IV Ibero-American catalog of illustration 2013, 2014, and the Sharjah International Book Fair 2013, 2014. Since 2011, when she published her first book, she's illustrated several books in Italy, Mexico, and Spain. At the moment, she continues to illustrate children's books, which is her favorite type of work.