Authors in Our Schools

Best-selling author David Baldacci and his wife Michelle Baldacci have made several generous gifts to support RIF NOVA, the first of which occurred during our Golden Gala celebration in 2022. The funding has been designated toward bringing authors and illustrators to RIF NOVA participating schools — where the authors engage with students about the importance of reading, writing, and creating. Each child is gifted an autographed copy of the author’s book or books. When students meet authors and illustrators, they are excited and inspired to see themselves as creators, too!

Featured Author: Hena Khan

Hena Khan visited with 3rd and 4th graders at PWC’s Marumsco Hills just before the school year ended. Such a fun afternoon as the students learned about the author’s background as a creator of picture books, middle grade fiction, pick-your-path adventures, and graphic novels. The day’s featured book was Zara’s Rules For Record-Breaking Fun, based on the author’s real-life dream to break the world hula hooping record. When challenged to show off her skills, she was a good sport to give it a go! The students loved it! They also loved getting a new autographed Zara book to take home for their home libraries!

Children’s authors who have participated in the Authors in Our Schools program to date are featured below (in alphabetical order). Several authors have visited our schools more than once! Some of the visits were supported with a community-funded grant from the Arlington Community Foundation’s Wish List in both 2024 and 2025, along with a gift from the Moser Family Fund in 2025 and 2026.

"Read! Write! Believe!"

— Author Gabriela Aldeman

"Write for the fun of it!"

— Author Fred Bowen

"Our stories matter!"

— Author Hanh Bui

A Book Journey

— Author Heather Murphy Capps

"Embrace your uniqueness!"

— Author Carylee Carrington

Learning about the Dust Bowl

— Author Alyssa Colman

"Everyone has a story to tell!"

— Author/Illustrator Lulu Delacre

"You don't need to wait to start writing!"

— Author Sue Fliess

"Illustrators are thieves!"

— Author/Illustrator Zara Gonzalez Hoang

"Every kid has a math superpower!"

— Author Valerie Johnson

"Reading is the best way to become a better writer!"

— Author Hena Khan

"Read, read, and read some more!"

— Author Tracey Kyle

"Don't wait for someone to tell you! Just try!"

— Author Amina Luqman-Dawson

Managing Feelings

— Author Leah Moser

"I like to write scary stories!"

— Author Ellen Oh

Ichthyologists in Training

— Author Debra Shumaker

"I write math books, but I don't like math!"

— Author Ann Marie Stephens

The magic of literacy

— Author Erin Stewart

Ramen for Everyone!

— Author Pat Tanumihardja

Seeing Illusions

— Author/Illustrator Chieu Anh Urban

"Always believe in yourself!"

— Author Cazzy Zahursky