Erin Entrada Kelly

Erin Entrada Kelly
Kelly at the 2024 National Book Awards in New York City
Born (1977-09-05) September 5, 1977
Hays, Kansas, U.S.
EducationMcNeese State University (BA)
Rosemont College (MFA)
Moore College of Art and Design (Honorary Doctorate)
OccupationWriter
AgentSara Crowe Literary
Notable workBlackbird Fly (2015), Hello Universe (2018), We Dream of Space (2020), The First State of Being (2024), At Last She Stood (2025), The Second Life of Snap (2026)
AwardsNewbery Medal (2018, 2025)
Newbery Honor (2021)
National Book Award Finalist (2024)
Sibert Honor (2025)
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor (2026)
Websiteerinentradakelly.com

Erin Entrada Kelly is an American writer.[1] She received 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.[2] She also received a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space,[3][4] the Award for Children's Literature from the Asian Pacific Librarians Association for her second novel The Land of Forgotten Girls,[5] and a Sibert Honor for At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom, her first work of nonfiction.[6] She is one of only five authors who have won two Newbery Medals and a Newbery Honor.[7] Kelly also received the prestigious Deutscher Jugendliter Preis (German Youth Literature Prize) for Vier Wünsche ans Universum, the German edition of Hello, Universe.[8]

In 2026, Kelly received a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor for The Second Life of Snap,[9] which was described as "dystopian fiction at its finest" by the School Library Journal.[10]

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.[11]

Kelly has a bachelor's degree from McNeese State University,[12] a Master of Fine Arts from Rosemont College,[13] and an honorary doctorate from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia.[14] She also served on the faculty of the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Hamline University[15] and was on the founding faculty for the University of San Francisco's Writing for Young Readers MFA Program.[16]

Career

Kelly started her career as a journalist for the American Press[17] and worked as an editor for Thrive Magazine for several years before relocating to the Northeast.[18]

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.[19] Kelly has also published numerous short stories for adults and worked as a book publicist with Smith Publicity in Cherry Hill, NJ.[20]

Kelly's third novel, Hello, Universe, received the 2018 Newbery Medal, among other honors.[21][22] Her 2024 book The First State of Being won the Newbery Medal and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.[23][24] She is also the author and illustrator of the Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey series.[25]

Kelly has cited Judy Blume as her greatest influence.[26]

Awards and recognition

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[44]
  • At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Survived, Spied, and Fought for Freedom (2025) ISBN 9780063218901
  • Fatal Glitch: Camp Zero[45][46]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Children's Book Podcast with Erin Entrada Kelly". Children’s Book Podcast. Retrieved July 7, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ "American Library Association announces 2025 Youth Media Award winners | ALA". American Library Association. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Erin Entrada Kelly's 'Hello, Universe' wins Newbery Medal". Washington Post. February 12, 2018. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  4. ↑ Szalusky (January 25, 2021). "ALA announces 2021 Youth Media Awards". News and Press Center. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  5. ↑ APALA. "Literature Awards". Archived from the original on January 1, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Sara Andrea Fajardo, Juana Martinez-Neal win 2026 Sibert Medal". American Library Association. January 26, 2026. Archived from the original on February 4, 2026. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  7. ↑ Yorio, Kara (January 27, 2025). "Erin Entrada Kelly Wins Second Newbery Medal". Archived from the original on February 15, 2026. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  8. ↑ "German Literature Prize booklet" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards". The Horn Book. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
  10. ↑ Entrada, Kelly, Erin. "The Second Life of Snap". School Library Journal. Retrieved July 10, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ "Erin Entrada Kelly". HarperCollins US. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  12. ↑ "McNeese graduate wins prestigious award for chiltren's book". Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Rosemont College Professor Wins the John Newbery Medal From the American Library Association". WIA Report. March 8, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Moore College of Art and Design". April 24, 2025.
  15. ↑ Hamline University. "Erin Entrada Kelly Joins Hamline Faculty". Hamline University. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Erin Entrada Kelly, Adjunct Professor". Archived from the original on September 5, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  17. ↑ Price, Donna (February 25, 2018). "Hello, Newberry! Lake Charles native Erin Entrada Kelly wins coveted literary award". American Press. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  18. ↑ "First Person with Erin Kelly - Places & Faces". thriveswla.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  19. ↑ Wang, Frances Kai-Hwa (January 26, 2017). "Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association names 2016 literature award winners". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  20. ↑ Smith Publicity (November 15, 2015). "Close Up: Erin Entrada Kelly". NJBIZ.
  21. ↑ "Housecleaning and 'Lots of Champagne': Erin Entrada Kelly Toasts Her Newbery Win". Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  22. ↑ "'Hello, Universe' Wins Newbery Medal, While Caldecott Goes To 'Wolf In The Snow'". NPR. February 12, 2018. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  23. 1 2 "The 2024 National Book Awards Finalists". The National Book Foundation. November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  24. 1 2 "American Library Association announces 2025 Youth Media Award winners". American Library Association. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey". HarperCollins. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  26. ↑ "'Imagination And Creativity Can Carry You Through': A Conversation With Newbery Medal Winner Erin Entrada Kelly". WBUR. October 17, 2019. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  27. ↑ "2015-2016 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winners Selected – APALA". January 12, 2016. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Reviews". Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  29. ↑ "SCBWI | 2016 Golden Kite Winners". Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  30. ↑ "The Southern Bookseller Review". The Southern Bookseller Review. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  31. ↑ "2017-2018 Master List « Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award". dcfbooks.edublogs.org. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2020: Alle Nominierungen". www.hugendubel.de. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Hello, Universe | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Hello, Universe". Texas Bluebonnet Award 2018 - 2019. December 3, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  35. ↑ "2019-2020 SC Children's Book Award Nominees | StudySC". www.studysc.org. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Bluestem 2020". Library Aware. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  37. ↑ "The Mythopoeic Society: 2020 Mythopoeic Awards finalists announced". www.mythsoc.org. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  38. ↑ "New York Public Library Announces Its Best Books of 2017 for Kids and Teens". New York Public Library. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  39. ↑ "The New York Public Library Selects Best Books of 2019 for Kids, Teens, and Adults". New York Public Library. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  40. ↑ "The New York Public Library Announces Best Books of 2020 for Kids, Teens, Adults". The New York Public Library. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  41. ↑ "Best Fiction for Older Readers of 2017 - Chicago Public Library". BiblioCommons. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  42. ↑ "CPL Best of the Best Books 2020". Chicago Public Library. November 23, 2020. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  43. ↑ "ALA announces 2021 Youth Media Awards". American Library Association. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  44. ↑ Yorio, Kara. "'Shock and Awe:' Erin Entrada Kelly Wins Second Newbery Medal". School Library Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  45. ↑ Swan, Jennifer Hubert (June 12, 2026). "Two Bewitching Kids' Novels Explore the Shadowy Corners of Summer Fun". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
  46. ↑ "Camp Zero (Fatal Glitch #1) by Erin Entrada Kelly, Eliot Schrefer". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
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