Holly Thompson (www.hatbooks.com [2]) is the author of two YA novels in verse: Orchards, winner of the APALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and The Language Inside (both Delacorte/Random House). She is also author of the novel Ash and picture book The Wakame Gatherers. Raised in New England but a longtime resident of Japan, she recently edited Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories. She earned a B.A. in Biology from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. in English/Fiction Writing from the New York University Creative Writing Program. She serves as regional advisor for the Japan chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and teaches writing at Yokohama City University.