Kalela Williams directs the Virginia Center for the Book, which includes their Book Arts program, the Virginia Festival of the Book, and other programs and projects throughout the year. She has served in directorships and other leadership capacities for Philadelphia organization Mighty Writers; the Free Library of Philadelphia, including their One Book, One Philadelphia program; and James Madison University’s Furious Flower Poetry Center. A writer and history enthusiast, Kalela’s fiction explores the landscape of Black America’s past, with her YA novel, Tangleroot,  forthcoming in October 2024 by Feiwel & Friends. Kalela lives in Staunton, VA, where she stays busy adding to the town’s arts and culture scene, writing, and shepherding her three cats.