Erin Entrada Kelly: The Universe of Stories Behind the Awards

Erin Entrada Kelly is an acclaimed author whose work has earned numerous accolades, 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, the 2023 NAIBA Book of the Year Award for Those Kids From Fawn Creek, and the 2017 APALA Award for The Land of Forgotten Girls. She is also a National Book Award Finalist and the author/illustrator of Marisol Rainey and Felix Powell, stand-alone stories for younger readers. Many of her books are New York Times bestsellers.Before her career as a children’s author, Erin worked as a journalist and magazine editor in her home state of Louisiana, earning awards from the Louisiana Press Association and the Associated Press for her work in community service journalism, feature writing, and editing. A prolific writer, she has published over thirty short stories and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Philippines Free Press Award for Short Fiction.Erin holds 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.