Kristy Dempsey is the author of 9 picture books, including Me with You, Surfer Chick and Superhero Instruction Manual, a 2017 ILA/CBC Children's Choice selection and 2017 Southern Book Prize nominee. Her titles have received starred reviews in Kirkus, Booklist, and School Library Journal, and A Dance Like Starlight was named a JLG selection, ALA Notable Book, Bank Street Best of 2015, CCBC 2015 Choice, and the winner of the 2015 Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text. Kristy is a member of SCBWI and a speaker and teacher at writing conferences, most recently for SCBWI Carolinas and the Highlights Foundation. After living in Belo Horizonte, Brazil for 22 years she now lives in Smyrna, Ga, where she works in marketing and creative development for The Lumistella Company.

Kristy is a former Preschool-12th grade librarian and Middle School and High School/AP English teacher at The American School of Belo Horizonte in Brazil, an International Baccalaureate PYP and MYP school. She believes in the power of story to help us understand ourselves and the world around us. She is also a frequent presenter at schools nationally and internationally, where her programs inspire students' love for (and skills in!) reading and writing, as well as ideals of empathy, personal responsibility, and perseverance. Find out more about Kristy's school visits, as well as forthcoming titles, at www.kristydempsey.com.