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 ''Hello, Universe'' is a 2017 novel written by Erin Entrada Kelly. The novel is told from the perspectives of four middle school students as one of them becomes trapped in a well. ''Hello, Universe'' received the 2018 Newbery Medal. The book Th ...

.'' She won the award a second time in 2025 for her novel ''The First State of Being.'' Kelly also received a 2021 Newbery Honor for ''We Dream of Space'' and the Award for Children's Literature from the Asian Pacific Librarians Association for her second novel ''The Land of Forgotten Girls.'' Her books are national and ''New York Times'' bestsellers and have been translated into many languages.

Early life and education

Kelly was born in the United States and raised in

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

, but now lives in New Castle County, Delaware, near

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Her mother immigrated to the U.S. from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Kelly has a bachelor's degree from

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

and a Master of Fine Arts from

Rosemont College Rosemont College is a private Catholic university in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1921 as a women's college by the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, the undergraduate program opened to male students beginning in fall 2009. ...

, where she teaches graduate-level courses in children's literature. She is also on the faculty of

Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...

, where she teaches in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program.

Career

Kelly started her career as a journalist for the ''American Press'' and worked as an editor for ''Thrive Magazine'' for several years before relocating to the Northeast. Her debut novel, ''Blackbird Fly'', was published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

Greenwillow Books in 2015 and won a

Golden Kite Award The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing ...

honor from the

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers ...

and an honor award from APALA. She won the 2016 Children's

Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature The Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature (APAAL) are a set of literary awards presented annually by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA). The APALA was formed in 1980 "to create an organization that would address the ...

for her second novel, ''The Land of Forgotten Girls''. Kelly has also published numerous short stories for adults and worked as a book publicist with Smith Publicity in Cherry Hill, NJ. Kelly's third novel'',

'' — 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. Kelly's 2024 book ''The First State of Being'' was a finalist for the

National Book Award for Young People's Literature The National Book Award for Young People's Literature is one of five annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation (NBF) to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writer ...

. Kelly is also the author and illustrator of the ''Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey'' series. Kelly has cited

Judy Blume Judith Blume (née Sussman; born February 12, 1938) is an American writer of children's, young adult, and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 26 novels. Among her best-known works are '' Are You There God? It's ...

as her greatest influence.

Awards and recognition

APALA Apala (or akpala) is a music genre originally developed by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, during the country's history as a colony of the British Empire. It is a percussion-based style that originated in the late 1930s. The rhythms of apala grew ...

Honor Award, ''Blackbird Fly'' * Cybils Honor Award, ''Blackbird Fly'' * Golden Kite Honor Award, Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, ''Blackbird Fly'' * Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize finalist, ''The Land of Forgotten Girls'' *

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Dorothy Canfield Fisher (February 17, 1879 – November 9, 1958) was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early 20th century. She strongly supported women's rights, racial equality, and lifelong educat ...

Book Award finalist, ''The Land of Forgotten Girls'' * Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis, ''

'' *

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

, '' Hello Universe'' * Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List, ''

'' * South Carolina Book Award Nominee, ''You Go First'' * Bluestem Book Award Nominee, ''You Go First'' *

Mythopoeic Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...

Finalist for Best Fantasy Novel for Children, ''Lalani of the Distant Sea'' *

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

Best Books of the Year, ''Hello, Universe'', ''Lalani of the Distant Sea'', ''We Dream of Space'' *

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the Chicago, City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed thr ...

Best Books of the Year, ''Hello, Universe'', ''We Dream of Space'' *

Newbery Honor The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

, ''We Dream of Space'' *

finalist, ''The First State of Being'' *

, ''The First State of Being''

Selected works

* ''Blackbird Fly'' (2015) * ''The Land of Forgotten Girls'' (2016) * ''

'' (2017) * ''You Go First'' (2018) *''Lalani of the Distant Sea'' (2019) *''We Dream of Space'' (2020) *''Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey'' (2021) *''Those Kids from Fawn Creek'' (2022) *''Surely Surely Marisol Rainey'' (2022) *''The First State of Being'' (2024) *''At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Survied, Spied, and Fought for Freedom'' (2025)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Erin Entrada American writers of Filipino descent American children's writers Living people Newbery Medal winners 21st-century American women writers McNeese State University alumni Rosemont College alumni People from Lake Charles, Louisiana Year of birth missing (living people)