Meg Medina served as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of many notable works for young readers of all ages, including her newest middle-grade novel and first fantasy, Graciela in the Abyss and Newbery Medal–winning and bestselling book Merci Suárez Changes Gears. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in New York, and now lives in Virginia.