About Elisa

Elisa Stone Leahy is a queer, Peruvian American children’s author who lives with her husband and kids in Columbus, Ohio. Whether creating award-winning documentary films or connecting readers to books through her work at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Elisa has always surrounded herself with stories. Her book Mallory in Full Color won the Lambda Literary Award for Middle Grade in 2025. It was also a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, one of the Top Ten NYPL Best Books for Kids and a School Library Journal Best Books of 2024. Her first book, Tethered to Other Stars, was a finalist for the Cybils Award and the Ohioana Book Award, made the 2024 Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices list, the Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year list, and received multiple starred reviews.

Literary Representation: Brent Taylor at Triada US Literary Agency

Speaking Engagements: Authors Out Loud (KidLit division of Authors Unbound)