Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow is an award-winning children’s book author. Before entering the literary world, she worked as an educator for more than fifteen years, teaching children and teens in schools and alternative settings and developing foundational curricula for the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC). This work continues to influence her writing. Her picture books and middle grade fiction, which center Black and Muslim protagonists, have been recognized as the best in children’s literature by many educational institutions and reputable publications, including Time, Ebony, and NPR. She is a two-time winner of the Muslim Bookstagram picture book award and she has earned the prestigious Walter, Irma Black, and Golden Kite award honors for her work. In addition to producing children’s literature, she invests her time in the mentorship of aspiring authors through We Need Diverse Books and the Highlights Foundation. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and their two sons.