My Mother's Tongues

About Uma Menon

Uma Menon was born in 2003 and raised in Winter Park, Florida. Growing up, she could not find stories that reflected her experience in a multilingual house, so she wrote this at age sixteen. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and the Progressive. She was a National Young Arts Winner for three consecutive years and has been nominated thrice for the Pushcart Prize. Uma Menon was the first Youth Fellow for the International Human Rights Art Festival and an Encore Public Voices Fellow. She studies international affairs and creative writing at Princeton University. You can find her at www.theumamenon.com.
Rahele Jomepour Bell, an Iranian-American picture book creator, graduated from Iowa State University with an MFA in integrated visual arts. She received an Illustration Mentorship Award from We Need Diverse Books and was awarded both the Portfolio Award Grand Prize and the Social Media Mentorship Award for Illustrators at the SCBWI National Conference. Her inspiration comes mostly from her childhood and Friday night family gatherings at her grandparents' house and illustrated books from around the world. She is happiest creating illustrations that send the imagination flying, offer a new look at an old idea, and reassure the viewer of their place in this world. You can find her at www.rahelestudio.com.