L Sam Zhang is the author and illustrator of the picture book series The First Chinese Festivals. She is a 2023-24 National Leaders of Color Fellow, and a finalist for the 2024 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship.
Sam was born in Shanghai and grew up in Buffalo, NY. After getting a BS in Biology from Cornell and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan, she spent a decade on the West Coast doing marketing and design for startups, research institutes, and nonprofits. She now lives in Michigan and is the Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Chinese Academy, a nonprofit organization that provides Chinese language, arts, and cultural experiences to youth from all backgrounds.