Claribel Ortega

“Purchase just seemed like a place that would foster my creativity. It felt like a place where I could flourish, learn more about myself, and be around other students who were like-minded.”

Claribel A. Ortega, a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, is a former reporter who writes middle-grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage.

When she’s not busy turning her obsession with pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she’s co-hosting her podcast Bad Author Book Club. Claribel is a Marvel contributor and has been featured on Buzzfeed, Bustle, Good Morning America and Deadline.

​Claribel’s NYT bestselling debut middle-grade novel, Ghost Squad, is being made into a feature film. Witchlings (Scholastic) was an Instant NYT and #1 Indie Bestseller.

Her graphic novel Frizzy with Rose Bousamra was a winner of the 2023 Pura Belpré Award for Children’s Text and an Indie Bestseller. Her latest book, Witchlings: Scepter of Memories, the fourth installment in the Witchlings Series, was just released in fall 2025.