The Lake Michigan Monster

Laura St. John

Author · she/her

Laura St. John is the founder of Play In A Book, a company that creates drama-based reading materials and programming for students in PreK through Grade 8. She is the author of the Act It Read It series and has worked in more than 100 Chicago Public Schools, reaching thousands of students over her 30-year career as a teaching artist. A former member of Actors’ Equity Association, Laura brings her background in theatre into her writing, with a focus on engaging young readers through story, performance, and imagination. She is also a collaborating author on Through the Cracks (Davis Publications/Artsake Publishing) and a past president of the Chicago Area Reading Association. She lives and works in Chicago with her husband Marlon, her daughters Abigail and Ella, and her puppy, Special Agent Dog Cooper. The Lake Michigan Monster is her first novel.

Janine Carrington

Illustrator · she/her

Janine Carrington is a Black artist of Caribbean heritage who specializes in Black-affirming children’s books and comics. Born in Toronto, Ontario, and taught the basics of drawing by her father, she went on to study art in high school and at the Ontario College of Art and Design. She spent her last year of college in Florence, Italy, and has traveled extensively to countries of the African diaspora. She has been working professionally since 2008, for herself and with authors and educators, to create art that uplifts all children, especially those of colour. As an illustrator she has worked on more than 60 children’s books, in addition to comics, posters, online illustrations, and magazines. She also produces child-centred, POC-centred animations. In 2023 she released her first author-illustrated children’s book, Em and the Cat, and was awarded an Ontario Arts Council grant to transform the book into an animated short film.