Author · Speaker · Tampa, Florida
Devin Paladino grew up in foster care in Rockford, Illinois. He has since published ten books, carried free copies into school libraries on two continents, and built a talk out of the one thing nobody handed him: proof that the ending isn't written yet.
On camera
Local news covered his first hometown speech. National outlets covered the books. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
WREX News · Rockford, Illinois
The closest thing to standing in the room: local television covering the talk he gave in the city he grew up in.
Who is Devin Paladino?
His father went to prison when he was 13. His mother had been out of the picture since he was seven. He went into the foster care system young, moved from home to home, and kept hearing the same number quoted back at him about how kids like him end up.
He wrote his first book, My Testimony, during the pandemic with the encouragement of one college lecturer. Eight more followed. They sit on shelves at Amazon, Walmart and Barnes & Noble — and, increasingly, in classrooms and libraries he walks into himself.
“I was always hearing about how kids in foster care end up dead or in prison, 50–60% of them, and I wanted to be different.”
Devin Paladino to Rockford News First, May 2025
Every talk ends the same way: books out of the bag, into the audience’s hands, and a set left for the library.
Speaking
Built for schools, libraries, youth programs, foster care and child-welfare organizations, and conferences that need the room told the truth.
No. 01
Foster care, instability, and the numbers young people hear about themselves — and what it actually took to land somewhere else.
No. 02
How reading and writing became the way out, and how a first-time author went from one notebook to ten published books.
No. 03
The talk behind the book of the same name: resilience, discipline and leadership, for audiences ready to do something with what they've carried.
The books
Children and young adults the world tends to look past — in Rockford, on the south side of Chicago, in a Brazilian favela, in a classroom in Tema, Ghana.
The debut
Devin's own account of hardship, resilience and hope, growing up between Rockford and Chicago.
$13.99Amazon
Hometown
A high school senior facing down college decisions and the weight of expectation on the field.
$12.99Amazon
The talk, in print
Resilience, leadership and personal growth, written for readers ready to move.
$12.99Amazon
The mission
Devin's mission is to put free books and reading materials into schools, libraries and community centers worldwide — particularly in underprivileged communities — so that children, teenagers and adults can discover what reading made possible for him.
“Every child deserves access to education and the chance to chase their dreams.”
Devin Paladino to the Ghana News Agency, January 2025
The work
Signings, assemblies, donations, and conversations with NBA champion Fred VanVleet, the mayors of Tampa, Florida and Rockford, Illinois, and the director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Booking
Assemblies, library visits, conferences and youth programs. Bundled classroom and library sets are available at discounted rates.
