ABOUT LESA
Lesa Cline-Ransome is the acclaimed author of numerous award-winning picture books that celebrate in story, such as Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams, Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass, and Not Playing by The Rules: 21 Female Athletes Who Changed Sports. Her verse biography of Harriet Tubman, Before She Was Harriet, received five starred reviews, was nominated for an NAACP image award, and received a Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustration. Her debut middle grade novel,
Finding Langston, was the 2019 winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and received the Coretta Scott King Award Author Honor. Lesa’s books have received numerous honors and awards including NAACP Awards, Kirkus Best Books, School Library Journal Best Book, New York Public Library Best Book, ALA Notable, and more. She frequently collaborates with her husband, illustrator James Ransome. They are the proud parents of four children.