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, a Master of Fine Arts from Rosemont College, and an honorary doctorate from Moore [College of Art and Design] in Philadelphia. She also served on the faculty of the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Hamline University and was on the founding faculty for the University of San Francisco's Writing for Young Readers MFA 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 won the Newbery Medal and 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

Selected works

Blackbird Fly The Land of Forgotten Girls Hello, Universe You Go First
  • Lalani of the Distant Sea
  • We Dream of Space
  • Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey
  • Those Kids from Fawn Creek
  • Surely Surely Marisol Rainey
  • The First State of Being
  • ''At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Survied, Spied, and Fought for Freedom''