Matt de la Pena teaches creative writing in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BA from the University of the Pacific where he attended on a full athletic scholarship for basketball. He received his MFA from San Diego State University. Matt is the author of three teen novels, Ball Don't Lie, Mexican White Boy and We Were Here (October 2009). His first novel, Ball Don't Lie, is now a major motion picture starring Ludacris and Rosanna Arquette.
Adopted as a baby, Ellen Hopkins grew up in Palm Springs, California with neighbors like Kirk Douglas, Elvis Presley and even once lived next door to Bob Hope. She is the author of six teen novels, Crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical and Tricks. Ellen is also the author of twenty nonfiction titles. As a child Ellen studied ballet, tap, jazz, modern and hula dance and loved riding and showing horses. For fun these days, she loves hiking, biking skiing, fishing, camping, gardening and raising German Shepherds.
