Erin Entrada Kelly

Erin Entrada Kelly
Kelly at the 2024 National Book Awards finalist reading
Born	Hays, Kansas, U.S.
Education	McNeese State University (BA) Rosemont College (MFA)
Occupation	Writer
Known for	Newbery Medal (2018) Newbery Honor (2021)

Erin Entrada Kelly is an American writer of children's literature. She was awarded the 2018 John Newbery Medal by the Association for Library Service to Children for her third novel Hello, Universe. She won the award a second time in 2025 for her novel The First State of Being. ^[1]

Kelly also received a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space ^{[2] [3]} and the Award for Children's Literature from the Asian Pacific Librarians Association for her second novel The Land of Forgotten Girls. ^[4]

Her books are national and New York Times bestsellers and have been translated into many languages. ^[5]

Early life and education

Kelly was born in the United States and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but now lives in New Castle County, Delaware, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her mother immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines. ^[6]

Kelly has a bachelor's degree from McNeese State University ^[7] and a Master of Fine Arts from Rosemont College, where she teaches graduate-level courses in children's literature. ^[8] She is also on the faculty of Hamline University, where she teaches in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. ^[9]

Career

Kelly started her career as a journalist for the American Press ^[10] and worked as an editor for Thrive Magazine for several years before relocating to the Northeast. ^[11] Her debut novel, Blackbird Fly, was published by HarperCollins Greenwillow Books in 2015 and won a Golden Kite Award honor from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and an honor award from APALA. She won the 2016 Children's Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature for her second novel, The Land of Forgotten Girls. ^[12] Kelly has also published numerous short stories for adults and worked as a book publicist with Smith Publicity in Cherry Hill, NJ. ^[13]

Kelly's third novel, Hello, Universe — the story of a missing middle-school boy and the group of friends who set out to rescue him — received the 2018 Newbery Medal, among other honors. ^{[14] [15]}

Kelly's 2024 book The First State of Being was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. ^[16]

Kelly is also the author and illustrator of the Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey series. ^[17]

Kelly has cited Judy Blume as her greatest influence. ^[18]

Awards and recognition

• APALA Honor Award, Blackbird Fly ^[19]
• Cybils Honor Award, Blackbird Fly ^[20]
• Golden Kite Honor Award, Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Blackbird Fly ^[21]
• Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize finalist, The Land of Forgotten Girls ^[22]
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award finalist, The Land of Forgotten Girls ^[23]
• Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis, Hello, Universe ^[24]
• Newbery Medal, Hello Universe ^[25]
• Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List, Hello, Universe ^[26]
• South Carolina Book Award Nominee, You Go First ^[27]
• Bluestem Book Award Nominee, You Go First ^[28]
• Mythopoeic Award Finalist for Best Fantasy Novel for Children, Lalani of the Distant Sea ^[29]
• New York Public Library Best Books of the Year, Hello, Universe, ^[30] Lalani of the Distant Sea, ^[31] We Dream of Space ^[32]
• Chicago Public Library Best Books of the Year, Hello, Universe, ^[33] We Dream of Space ^[34]
• Newbery Honor, We Dream of Space ^[35]
• National Book Award for Young People's Literature finalist, The First State of Being
• Newbery Medal, The First State of Being

Selected works

• Blackbird Fly (2015) ISBN   9780062238610
• The Land of Forgotten Girls (2016) ISBN   9780062238641
• Hello, Universe (2017) ISBN   9780062414151
• You Go First (2018) ISBN   9780062414182
• Lalani of the Distant Sea (2019) ISBN   9780062747273
• We Dream of Space (2020) ISBN   9780062747303
• Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey (2021) ISBN   9780062970428
• Those Kids from Fawn Creek (2022) ISBN   9780062970350
• Surely Surely Marisol Rainey (2022) ISBN   9780062970459
• The First State of Being (2024) ISBN   9781420516661
• At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Survied, Spied, and Fought for Freedom (2025) ISBN   9780063218901

References

1. "American Library Association announces 2025 Youth Media Award winners".
2. "Erin Entrada Kelly's 'Hello, Universe' wins Newbery Medal". Washington Post. 2018-02-12. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2018-03-01.
3. SZALUSKY (2021-01-25). "ALA announces 2021 Youth Media Awards". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
4. APALA. "Literature Awards".
5. HarperCollins. "Erin Entrada Kelly".
6. "Erin Entrada Kelly". HarperCollins US.
7. Staff, KPLC Digital. "McNeese graduate wins prestigious award for children's book". Archived from the original on 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
8. "Rosemont College Professor Wins the John Newbery Medal From the American Library Association". WIA Report. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
9. Hamline University. "Erin Entrada Kelly Joins Hamline Faculty". Hamline University. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24.
10. Price, Donna (25 February 2018). "HELLO, NEWBERY! Lake Charles native Erin Entrada Kelly wins coveted literary award". American Press. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
11. "First Person with Erin Kelly - Places & Faces". thriveswla.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
12. Wang, Frances Kai-Hwa (2017-01-26). "Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association names 2016 literature award winners". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
13. Smith Publicity. "Close Up: Erin Entrada Kelly".
14. "Housecleaning and 'Lots of Champagne': Erin Entrada Kelly Toasts Her Newbery Win".
15. "'Hello, Universe' Wins Newbery Medal, While Caldecott Goes To 'Wolf In The Snow'". NPR .
16. "The 2024 National Book Awards Finalists". The National Book Foundation. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
17. "Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
18. "'Imagination And Creativity Can Carry You Through': A Conversation With Newbery Medal Winner Erin Entrada Kelly". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
19. "2015-2016 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winners Selected – APALA" . Retrieved 2021-01-09.
20. "Reviews" . Retrieved 2021-01-09.
21. "SCBWI | 2016 Golden Kite Winners". Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
22. "Home » The Southern Bookseller Review". The Southern Bookseller Review. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
23. "2017-2018 Master List « Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award". dcfbooks.edublogs.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
24. "Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2020: Alle Nominierungen". www.hugendubel.de. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
25. "Hello, Universe | Awards & Grants". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
26. "Hello, Universe". Texas Bluebonnet Award 2018 - 2019. 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
27. "2019-2020 SC Children's Book Award Nominees | StudySC". www.studysc.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
28. "Bluestem 2020". www.libraryaware.com. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
29. "The Mythopoeic Society: 2020 Mythopoeic Awards finalists announced". www.mythsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
30. "New York Public Library Announces Its Best Books of 2017 for Kids and Teens". www.nypl.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
31. "The New York Public Library Selects Best Books of 2019 for Kids, Teens, and Adults". www.nypl.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
32. "The New York Public Library Announces Best Books of 2020 for Kids, Teens, Adults". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
33. "Best Fiction for Older Readers of 2017 - Chicago Public Library". BiblioCommons. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
34. "CPL Best of the Best Books 2020". www.chipublib.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
35. "ALA announces 2021 Youth Media Awards". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2021-01-25.

External links

• Children's literature portal