The visiting author program is one of the targeted programs the ICCSD Foundation supports. In partnership with Hills Bank’s Community Reading Month, a book author is selected each year to visit the District and speak with students about their writing and experiences.

This year's visiting author is Rita Williams-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of novels for young adults and middle-grade readers. Her most recent novel, Gone Crazy in Alabama ends the saga of the Gaither Sisters, who appear in One Crazy Summer and PS Be Eleven. Her novels have been recipients of numerous awards, including the Coretta Scott King Award, National Book Award Finalists, Newbery Honor Book, Junior Library Guild, and the Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction. She served on faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children MFA Program and she resides in Queens, New York.