Kyle Lukoff is a children's book author, school librarian, and former bookseller. He is most known for the

Stonewall award The Stonewall Awards was an annual event held by the British charity Stonewall to recognise people who have affected the lives of British lesbian, gay, bi and trans people. The event was first held in 2006 at the Royal Academy of Arts and from ...

-winning '' When Aidan Became a Brother'' and for '' Call Me Max'', which gained attention when parents in Texas complained about the book being read in an elementary school classroom and a Utah school district canceled its book program after the book was read to third graders.

Personal life

Lukoff is a transgender man, who transitioned in 2004 while an undergraduate at Barnard College, a historically women's college. Much of his work centers on

transgender children Transgender youth are children or adolescents who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. Because transgender youth are usually dependent on their parents for care, shelter, financial support, and other needs, transgender yo ...

. He is Jewish.

Education

Lukoff went to Edmonds-Woodway High School then graduated from Barnard College in 2006. While at Barnard, he was a member of Columbia University's Philolexian Society. He earned his Master's degree in library science from

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

in 2012.

Career

Lukoff was a school librarian at the Corlears School in New York City until he quit his job to write full time in 2020. His first book, ''A Storytelling of Ravens'', was published in 2018 by

House of Anansi Press House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. History Anans ...

and illustrated by Natalie Nelson. His second book, ''When Aidan Became a Brother'', illustrated by

Kaylani Juanita Kaylani Juanita McCard, professionally known as Kaylani Juanita, is an illustrator. Her work focuses on activism, empowerment of people of color, and LGBTQ+ people. Her work has appeared in publications through Chronicle Books, Cicada Magazine, a ...

, is a story about a transgender boy awaiting a new sibling. The book was published by Lee & Low, an independent publisher known for works by unpublished authors and illustrators of color. Lukoff's ''Max and Friends'' series was released in November 2019 with ''Call Me Max'', illustrated by Luciano Luzano. In April 2020, he published ''Explosion at the Poem Factory'' and was illustrated by Mark Hoffman. In 2021, he published '' Too Bright to See'', which won the Stonewall award and a Newbery Honor, and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. He also wrote Different Kinds of Fruit

Publications

Books

*''A Storytelling of Ravens'', 2018 *''When Aidan Became a Brother'', 2019 *''Explosion at the Poem Factory'', 2020 *'' Too Bright to See'', 2021 *''Different Kinds of Fruit'', 2022 *''If You're a Kid Like Gavin'', 2022, with Gavin Grimm *''Awake, Asleep'', 2023 *''There's No Such Thing as Vegetables'', 2024 *''I'm Sorry You Got Mad'', 2024 *''Just What to Do'', 2024

Book Series

* Max ** ''Call Me Max'', 2019 **''Max and the Talent Show'', 2019 **''Max on the Farm'', 2020 *Mermaid Days **''Mermaid Days'' #1: ''The Sunken Ship'', 2022 **''Mermaid Days #2: The Sea Monster'', 2022 **''Mermaid Days #3: A New Friend'', 2023

Essays

* "Taking up Space" in Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation * "Evaluating Transgender Picture Books; Calling for Better Ones" in ''School Library Journal''. * "Second Trans on the Moon" in ''YA Pride''. * "A letter to trans writers who are thinking about trying to get published."

Awards

* 2022 Winner: Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature for ''Too Bright to See'' * 2022 Honor:

Newbery Newbery is a surname. People *Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver *David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot *Francis Newbery (disambiguation), sev ...

for ''Too Bright to See'' * 2021 Finalist: National Book Award, Young People's Literature for ''Too Bright to See'' *2020 Winner: Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature for ''When Aidan Became a Brother'' * 2020 Honor:

Charlotte Huck Award The Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children, established in 2014 and organized by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), is an annual American literary award for children's fiction books. According to NCTE, the "awar ...

for Outstanding Fiction for Children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukoff, Kyle 1984 births Living people People from Skokie, Illinois Writers from Illinois Barnard College alumni Queens College, City University of New York alumni American children's writers Transgender Jews Transgender male writers American librarians Stonewall Book Award winners American transgender men American transgender writers LGBT people from Illinois Newbery Honor winners