Erin Entrada Kelly

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Erin Entrada Kelly (born September 5, 1977) is an American writer, who is best known for writing stories, but also writes true stories. She got many awards, but the most famous ones are the John Newbery Medal, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and the National Book Award. She is half Filipino and grew up in Louisiana.

Career

Kelly taught writing and children’s literature at Rosemont College and Hamline University. In college, she studied women's studies and liberal arts at McNeese State University. She then studied creative writing from Rosemont College. Kelly always wanted to be a writer since she was a child. She wrote her first story at age eight. She worked as a journalist, editor, copy editor, and book publisher for many years while writing in her free time. Kelly won the Newbery Medal in 2018. After, she started writing everyday.

Books

Kelly has written 19 books:

• Hello, Universe
• We Dream of Space
• Blackbird Fly
• Lalani of the Distant Sea
• The First State of Being
• At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom
• You Go First
• The Land of Forgotten Girls
• Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey
• Those Kids from Fawn Creek
• The Last Resort
• Surely Surely Marisol Rainey
• On Again, Awkward Again
• Your Turn Marisol Rainey
• Felix Powell, Boy Dog
• Only Only Marisol Rainey
• Onward: 16 Climate Fiction Short Stories to Inspire Hope
• Hola, Universo
• The Second Life of Snap

She has also written and drawn books for younger readers with her Marisol Rainey series.

Awards

Kelly has gotten many awards, but some of the most important awards are the John Newbery Medal, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and the National Book Award. She won the 2018 John Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe. Kelly also won the 2025 John Newbery Medal for The First State of Being. We Dream of Space is a Newbery Honor book. Kelly also won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for The Land of Forgotten Girls in 2017 and Blackbird Fly in 2016. Kelly was also a National Book Award Finalist in 2024 for The First State of Being.

References

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Erin Entrada Kelly | Biography, Books, & Family | Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
2. ↑ "About The Author". NewsBank. 2025-06-22. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Author Book Awards". school.teachingbooks.net. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
4. ↑ "TeachingBooks | Erin Entrada Kelly". school.teachingbooks.net. Retrieved 2026-04-24.
5. ↑ "Rosemont College Professor Wins the John Newbery Medal From the American Library Association". Women in Academia Report. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2026-04-19.