Niña (neen-yah) Mata is an author-illustrator who has created many books for kids including the #1 New York Times Bestseller I Promise by LeBron James, and her first authored book for older readers, Girls to the Front which will be released Jan 2025. She is also the illustrator of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honored series Ty’s Travels by Kelly Starling Lyons. She was born in the Philippines and raised in Queens, New York. Because her parents worked and went to night school, Niña spent a lot of time drawing and has always been inspired by the world around her. Her work is a consistent ode to the diverse community she was raised in. She believes that everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in the stories they read and that we should all be celebrated.

When Niña is not illustrating or writing, she is singing karaoke, napping with her cat, dancing at a hip hop class, or on a beach people watching with her husband and daughter and on a hunt for the best lobster roll by the Jersey shore.