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Erin Entrada Kelly

Erin Entrada Kelly

Children's Author

Erin Entrada Kelly is the author of award-winning chapter books for children and young adults, including The First State of Being (2025 Newbery Medal) and Hello, Universe (2018 Newbery Medal). Her books explore coming of age with sensitivity and honesty, dealing with issues such as bullying, building friendships, and feeling like an outsider. In this interview, Erin talks about giving voice to quiet characters, different ways to be mighty, celebrating Filipino culture, the importance of diversity in children’s books, letting kids choose what they want (and love) to read, and much more.

Biography

Erin Entrada Kelly has received numerous awards and recognition for her work, including the 2025 Newbery Medal for The First State of Being, the 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe, a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, and the 2017 APALA Award for The Land of Forgotten Girls, among many other honors. She is a National Book Award Finalist and the author/illustrator of Marisol Rainey and Felix Powell, stand-alone stories for younger readers. Her books are New York Times bestsellers. Erin is also a short story writer. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Philippines Free Press Literary Award for Short Fiction and the Pushcart Prize.

Erin was raised in Louisiana and worked there as a journalist and magazine editor. She has a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies and liberal arts from McNeese State University and an MFA in fiction from Rosemont College. She currently lives in Delaware and teaches in the MFAC program at Hamline University. 

Erin is mestiza (opens in a new window) and identifies as Filipina-American. Her mother is Visayan and lives in Cebu, which is why many of Erin’s Filipino characters speak Cebuano rather than Tagalog.

Learn more about Erin on her official website (opens in a new window), and follow her on Facebook (opens in a new window) and Instagram (opens in a new window).

Books by this author

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