# Erin Entrada Kelly

Erin Entrada Kelly is an American writer of children's literature. She was awarded 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.
Kelly also received a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space and the Award for Children's Literature from the Asian Pacific Librarians Association for her second novel The Land of Forgotten Girls.
Her books are national and New York Times bestsellers and have been translated into many languages.

## 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.
Kelly has a bachelor's degree from McNeese State University and a Master of Fine Arts from Rosemont College, where she teaches graduate-level courses in children's literature. She is also on the faculty of Hamline University, where she teaches in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program.

## Career

Kelly started her career as a journalist for the American Press and worked as an editor for Thrive Magazine for several years before relocating to the Northeast. 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. Kelly has also published numerous short stories for adults and worked as a book publicist with Smith Publicity in Cherry Hill, NJ.
Kelly's third novel, Hello, Universe — the story of a missing middle-school boy and the group of friends who set out to rescue him — received the 2018 Newbery Medal, among other honors.
Kelly's 2024 book The First State of Being was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Kelly is also the author and illustrator of the Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey series.
Kelly has cited Judy Blume as her greatest influence.

## Awards and recognition

* APALA Honor Award, Blackbird Fly
* Cybils Honor Award, Blackbird Fly
* Golden Kite Honor Award, Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Blackbird Fly
* Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize finalist, The Land of Forgotten Girls
* Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award finalist, The Land of Forgotten Girls
* Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis, Hello, Universe
* Newbery Medal, Hello Universe
* Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List, Hello, Universe
* South Carolina Book Award Nominee, You Go First
* Bluestem Book Award Nominee, You Go First
* Mythopoeic Award Finalist for Best Fantasy Novel for Children, Lalani of the Distant Sea
* New York Public Library Best Books of the Year, Hello, Universe, Lalani of the Distant Sea, We Dream of Space
* Chicago Public Library Best Books of the Year, Hello, Universe, We Dream of Space
* Newbery Honor, We Dream of Space
* National Book Award for Young People's Literature finalist, The First State of Being
* Newbery Medal, The First State of Being

## 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