Kyle Lukoff author page

Kyle Lukoff biography

Kyle Lukoff is an American author and former school librarian known for his contributions to children’s and middle-grade literature. Born in 1984 in Skokie, Illinois, he grew up near Seattle, Washington. Lukoff earned a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College in 2006 and a master’s degree in library science from Queens College in 2012. He worked as a bookseller for ten years and as a school librarian for nine years before becoming a full-time writer in 2020.

Lukoff’s debut picture book, A Storytelling of Ravens, was published in 2018. He gained wider recognition with When Aidan Became a Brother (2019), illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, which received the 2020 Stonewall Book Award. His middle-grade novel Too Bright to See (2021) was honored with a Newbery Honor, the Stonewall Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

His bibliography includes the Max and Friends early reader series, the Mermaid Days series, and picture books such as Explosion at the Poem Factory (2020), Awake, Asleep (2023), and There’s No Such Thing as Vegetables (2024). In 2022, he co-authored If You’re a Kid Like Gavin with Gavin Grimm, illustrated by J Yang. His upper middle-grade novel A World Worth Saving is scheduled for publication in 2025.

In addition to writing, Lukoff has served as a judge for the Kirkus Prize and the National Book Award in the category of Young People’s Literature. He is represented by Saba Sulaiman at Talcott Notch Literary Services.