The annual NCTE conference always brings an abundance of opportunities. It is great to meet with friend and colleague--far too many to even begin to mention.  I learned new things, made plans for new projects, and made new friends. I have to say that the moment that will stay with me for along time was the session with two keynote speeches--one from Padma Venkatraman (here on Facebook and here for an official page) and one from Dana Walrath (here on Facebook and here for an official page). One of the sad things about missing a session is that a summary never captures the heart or the impact of the experience. Briefly, they talked about the resiliency of youth. The power of the ability to overcome obstacles. There is indeed hope in the world if we focus on what adolescents can do instead of testing them endlessly through meaningless cycles of standardized tests. Let's work on letting them read.  I strongly recommend A Time to Dance and Like Water on Stone; really, you should click on these links and explore these books. There is too much pain in the world to not take a moment and let your hear expand.

The rest of these weeks blog posting is a collection of paragraphs from colleagues and friends who attended the ALAN Workshop. Explore and feel their passion.

Paul W. Hankins My first experience of ALAN 2015 was when Kwame Alexander asked to borrow my copy of his new title, BOOKED so that he could read from it during his keynote. I playfully told him that I would be watching him the whole time to make sure that book came back. And when he stepped off the stage, he found me with book in hand. Along with his new picture book. This is what readers do. What readers in community do. It what we want our readers in our classrooms to do. When they come to borrow a book, they come back. . .with something more. A "review." A "reflection." And we hope. . .a request. For another book. It's the greatest reciprocity that comes of books being passed from hand-to-hand and heart-to-heart.
Paul W. Hankins

This is my first time at the ALAN Workshop.  People told me I would get some books.  I’m not sure how I’m going to get all of these books to my car!
Also, I can’t believe how many YA authors I’m having the opportunity to hear from.  Panels, individuals, conversations between two authors, book talks, sessions.  My favorite so far today has been Hannah Moskowitz – she’s down-to-earth, funny.  She writes about characters who are Jewish and have mental illness but these parts of their identities are not the conflicts in the novel – they’re just part of life.  I’m going to read ALL of her books J
Kristen Nichols-Besel

Besides the obvious draw of wonderful books, the ALAN conference brings together fans of YA lit and their authors in the most positive and inspiring atmosphere anywhere! The sheer variety of books and voices cannot be matched.
Jean Boreen

I recently attended a session at NCTE regarding the use of paired graphic, prose, and informational texts in the classroom. I walked into the auditorium and found a seat as well as a place to put my laptop. I looked up at the panel of speakers and found myself surprised to see Eliot Schrefer, the author of Endangered and Threatened sitting in one of the panel chairs. As he was talking, I found myself soaking in every word, not only for me but also for my students. My 8th graders are huge fans of Schrefer’s work; I never have a copy of his book left on my bookshelves. His books are always in the hands of my students. After the panel I mustered up the courage to thank him for writing such great texts to engage my students. I told him that he made my job a little easier as a teacher. His response by handing me his business card wihis email address along with his offer to visit my students if he is in Dallas area again left me speechless and inspired. We need more authors like Eliot Schrefer who not only care about the current status and successes of their novels, but also genuinely care for the students reading and enjoying every turn of the page in their books. Schrefer inspired my students, who struggle to find joy in reading, to find a love for something beyond the pages of a book and to submerge their imaginations in a story beyond the realms of their lives.
Stephanie Krolick Branson

I come to ALAN especially to hear the amazing YA authors -- I always learn of new writers; I always hear words of inspiration; I always get new ideas that I want to share with future English teachers.   I come to ALAN for all the free books that I share with my students in YA Literature; I want to "pay it forward" and the publishers and authors are very generous in helping me have books to pass on to others.  I come to ALAN to become a better teacher of YA Lit and of future teachers; and I come to ALAN to be with all the other ALAN members (join here) -- teachers and librarians and other supporters who know how important it is for us to find ways to help teens and tweens find their homes in reading.
Mary Warner

I attended ALAN from 2003 to 2007 as an English Teacher for high school students who had exhausted all of their other public school options. The workshop provided a wealth of great books for my reluctant and struggling readers. It also provided ongoing inspiration for my own writing. In 2015 my debut novel, Surviving Bear Island was published and I was invited to be on the Debut Author's Panel.
Paul Greci

It's going to be difficult to encapsulate the memories I will leave Minneapolis with in a single paragraph. From finally getting the chance to meet authors I admire like Kwame Alexander and Margarita Engle, to getting hugs from authors I love like Laurie Halse Anderson and Jason Reynolds, to meeting and interacting with authors I didn't know much about like Shaun David Hutchinson, my experience at NCTE and ALAN this year has been, as it always is, rejuvenating and transformative. But more importantly, looking around the ballroom at a sea full of elated teachers behind toppling piles of free books, being at NCTE and ALAN reminds me that I am not alone and that there are thousands of teachers just like me who want to do right by their students, no matter the cost and no matter the top-down mandates that are being forced upon us. Becuase no test and no force-fed reading program can teach empathy or will help us feel less alone. Books do that. A classroom community of readers and writers does that.
Beth Shaum

When I think of this year's ALAN conference, there are so many highlights.  There's the seemingly endless supply of books just waiting to be autographed by real-life authors; the meet-and-greet cocktail party where authors mingle, ready for conversation and the occasional selfie; rows and rows of kind people who love teaching and young adult literature just as much as I do; the breakout sessions that inspire and reinvigorate our practices.  One highlight in particular is especially meaningful: the chance to meet, and learn from, Andrew Smith. During his Monday morning conversation with A.S. King, Smith emphasized that we must continue to give our students books that they desire to read.  No doubt Smith has taken such a directive to heart; his Winger has been "that book" for many of my reluctant readers.  At the author signing, I was among the first in line, and thanked Smith for the many ways that he continues to create readers.  I also had the good sense to ask for a photo.  Then, of course, I texted the picture to some of Smith's devoted readers at my school.  My favorite response? "Hey--can you grab me a copy of the new book?"  
Gretchen Rumohr-Voskuil

People speak about heart print books, ALAN is where I gather with my heart print tribe; a tribe that formed on both passion and promise. We have a passion for the profession we have chosen; it is in our marrow, and a promise to put books in the hands of kids. Both books AND kids matter, and the relationship between them is nothing short of lifesaving. My soul is nourished, my mind is full, and my heart is happy. I am secure in the knowledge that this heart print tribe, while separated by geography, are tethered with a sacred bond that will continue to pull us toward the work and toward each other. Here's to Atlanta and beyond.
Cathy Blacker

I am at the airport going through all my ALAN 2015 memories...yes, they are already memories! I miss everyone already! What a great NCTE/ALAN! We lucked out with the weather too. I learned so much and got so many great books! 3 boxes this time! Glad for "media mail." I attended thought-provoking publisher dinners that covered the gamut of topics, reconnected with and met lots of people, and received lots and lots of books! Thankful for incredible ALAN President Daria Moskwa Plumb, all the fabulous publishers and authors (especially the ones like Jennifer Nielsen and Tamara Ireland Stone who went to the Miami Book Fair mid-weekend and came back for ALAN!). All my dear, dear teacher and librarian friends and co-committee members (overlaps among those!). Meeting all the young and inspiring new teachers and librarians who will carry the ALAN torch for us long-timers (notice the purposeful choice of word!). Happy trails and safe travels to you all, and Happy Thanksgiving! WE ARE ALAN! 
Diane Wilhelm Tuccillo

I read to feel the joys of the world. I read to inspire others. I read so that I don't feel alone. I read so my children and grandchildren will find joy and acceptance in the world when it might appear bleak. Keep reading, keep sharing, and keep attending the ALAN Workshop. (If you have paragraphs send them my way. I will save them and post another set when the workshop feels to far away.) I am already looking forward to what Jennifer Buehler has to offer as she plans next years workshop. Oh, and remember you have plenty of people willing to help.
Thanks for reading. Until next week.
Steven T. Bickmore

This bonus edition of the YA Wednesday is meant to tap into the release of  the final movie in The Hunger Games Series. Dr. Louise Freeman is the first to offer up a second guest column. She looks at how young adult literature and psychology inform each other. It is an interesting connection that hasn't been explored very much. She has done a good job convincing me. In addition, she has found a way to do projects with classroom teachers.

Psychology and YAL:  When Two Disciplines Inform Each Other.

            One of my favorite moments at the 2014 LSU Young Adult Literature Conference and Symposium came during author Matt de la Peña’s address, when he explained that, from the moment he knew what a college education was, he knew he wanted to study psychology, and that he thought and understanding of psychology was crucial for successful writers. Up until that time I had been feeling a bit like the proverbial fish out of water, as the lone psychologist in a sea of English teachers, education professors, literary scholars and writers. Matt reinforced my view that the behavioral sciences can inform YAL, and vice versa.

I suppose it is fitting that I am now researching psychology and neuroscience in the context of YAL, since, looking back, it was likely L’Engle’s classic A Wrinkle in Time that sparked my interest in studying the brain. I still remember my fifth grade teacher reading the book aloud to us, and the excitement as the villainous “IT” was revealed for who IT was: a slightly oversized brain who had managed to enslave an entire planet and force its citizens into a dismal conformity. That, combined with my lifelong interest in biology, no doubt instilled by my biology-professor parents, led me into the field of behavioral neuroscience.
            Over the last few years, I have evolved from occasional comments on “serious reader” Harry Potter blogs (www.hogwartsprofessor.com) to actively applying my training as a psychology professor to some of my favorite YA series. For example:

• I have spoken (http://www.mbc.edu/news/2012/11/01/professor-couches-harry-potter-in-psychological-terms/) and written (https://journals.shareok.org/studyandscrutiny/article/view/121) about Muggle psychiatric disorders illustrated by characters in Harry Potter.
  • These depictions may have measurable effects: work by Mary Baldwin Global Honors Scholars found that Harry Potter readers are more empathic and less likely to stigmatize people with mental illness than non-readers. (http://www.mbc.edu/news/2015/10/30/students-take-their-turn-on-potter-psychology/)

We have used the Divergent series as a tool for teaching about the “Big Five” model for human personality. (http://www.mbc.edu/news/2014/03/27/movie-night-psych-students/)
A collaboration with English teacher Martha Guarisco showed that completing a reading unit about Wonder was associated with higher perspective taking skills on a common empathy test (http://www.yawednesday.com/blog/archives/02-2015); we are currently testing whether the same is true of The Crossover, and if the changes in empathy are associated with theory of mind skills.
I have twice presented at the annual Harry Potter conference at Chestnut Hill College. (http://www.harrypotterconference.com/) on ecopsychology within the series and on its empathy-inducing attributes.

Most recently, I have completed a chapter on the depiction of post-traumatic stress disorder in the Hunger Games series, and particularly the process by which Peeta was hijacked. I am giving a talk on the topic on the Mary Baldwin College campus, and, at the request of several people, have made the lecture available on Youtube.

• Part 1 will deal with the concept of fear conditioning and how, in some patients (including many of our favorite Hunger Games characters),  it can lead to PTSD.  https://youtu.be/eQKKBfbfPQI
• Part 2 will address how Peeta’s hijacking is treated and what that tells us about modern day therapies for PTSD. https://youtu.be/KRUYueLBhRs
• Part 3 will look at some recent memory-modification studies in mice to address the question of how feasible a process like hijacking might be. https://youtu.be/JIgRWaATp1g

With psychology as one of the most popular fields of study for today’s college students, and with YAL more widely read than ever, the two fields can mutually inform each other. One recent and relevant example:A 2014 study by Vezzali and colleagues showed that elementary students who had a series of lessons stressing the anti-bigotry themes of the Harry Potter series and who strongly identified with Harry were less likely to show stigmatizing attitudes towards immigrants. Furthermore, European college students who had read the series were less stigmatizing of, and better able to adopt the viewpoint of refugees. The Hunger Games series illustrates both the long-term harm that exposure to violence can cause, and the power of the media in shaping our attitudes towards warfare and the victims of it. The young readers that grew up with both of these very popular series are now bona fide “young adults”—old enough to cast their votes for our leadership. Presumably they will at least partially base their decision on policies towards immigrants and refugees; it would be interesting to know to what extent their adolescent book selections will affect their future choices, and their attitudes towards both perceived threats of violence and towards those trying to escape it.

I hope that, as the study of YAL becomes more interdisciplinary, that we will see more psychologists joining the discussion and investigating both psychological themes within the books themselves, and the effects of reading them on both the young, and the young at heart.

Source:
Vezzali, L., Stathi, S., Giovannini, D., Capozza, D., & Trifiletti, E. (2014). The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 45(2), 105-121.

Dr. Paul E. Binford from Mississippi State University is the guest editor for this week’s YA Wednesday. the two of us have worked on a couple of projects blending Social Studies and young adult literature. We have a book in the works that will explore how a teacher and group of students might study a moment in a state's history through primary documents and a YA novel. Through such an approach we argue that students can meet the standards of both the Social Studies and the English Language Arts curriculum. In this entry, Dr. Binford helps us see the connections between the Social Studies and YA literature by revisiting Mississippi Trial, 1955.

Has the murder of Emmett Till been purged from the public school curriculum in Mississippi replaced by a whitewashed version of the Civil Rights movement? 

This is a reasonable question given Mississippi’s historically tumultuous race relations, the violence sparked by the Civil Rights movement, which challenged the segregated status quo, and the state’s reluctant acceptance of integration.  In this regard, I just finished reading Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe.  This YA historical fiction book narrates the events surrounding the murder of Emmett Till through the eyes of Hiram Hillburn, a teenager, who has just returned to Mississippi and who, at the story’s outset, holds a romanticized notion of life in the Delta:  “[Greenwood] seemed like the homiest place on earth to me, and the longer I stood there, the happier I was to be . . . back where I belonged.” 

As Crowe weaves his story, Hillburn’s homecoming leads to a gradual awareness of the cruelties of Greenwood’s segregated society.  In this book, the case of Emmett Till symbolizes all of the racially motivated hatred, inequality, brutality, and injustice.  Till, a fourteen-year old African American from Chicago, was spending a few weeks of his summer in the Delta.  While visiting the local store with some of his friends after a long, hot day of picking cotton, Till unwittingly violated the unspoken, but strictly—and sometimes violently—enforced racial code of the Deep South by whistling at a married white woman.  In the early morning hours of August 28, 1955, Till was kidnapped at gunpoint from his great uncle’s home in Money, Mississippi.  His brutalized body was recovered from the Tallahatchie River some three days later.  The perpetrators of this brutal crime, Roy Bryant—the storeowner and also the husband of the affronted woman—and his half brother, J. W. Milam were arrested and indicted for murder.  After a nearly week long trial including a jury deliberation that lasted slightly longer than an hour, the all-white 12 man jury acquitted Bryant and Milam of Till’s murder.

The barbarity of this racially motivated crime and the profound injustice of the trial, as Crowe observed, was one of the catalysts of the Civil Rights movement.  While the author acknowledged the events surrounding the Till murder were “difficult” for him “to study and to tell,” he was convinced that it was “a story that must be known by all Americans, young and old.”  Yet, in 2002, Crowe had a nagging suspicion that “the Emmett Till case . . . [wa]s still essentially overlooked in history books and classes.” Like Hiram Hillburn’s boyhood remembrances of Greenwood, does Mississippi’s “official knowledge,” as codified in public school textbooks, present a sanitized and sentimentalized version of the segregated South with the Till murder expunged from the collective memory?  

Crowe is not alone in this apprehension.  Just last month, a community forum was held in Starkville, Mississippi, which included the dedication of a website http://starkvillecivilrights.msstate.edu to the community’s civil rights movement and a panel discussion.  With the integration of Starkville schools in the early Seventies, one thoughtful questioner asked whether the curriculum had changed to be more inclusive of African Americans.  In response, one panelist offered an unqualified “No” while alluding to a state history textbook written by John K. Bettersworth, which, incidentally, went out of print in the late 1980s.  

A more balanced and fair-minded answer to this question offers hope.  By state law, the 2011 Mississippi Social Studies Framework includes a “Civil Rights/Human Rights” strand for every grade level (K-12).  The Framework includes Mississippi Studies, a ninth grade course required for graduation.  One of the competencies and objectives reads as follows:

Civil Rights/Human Rights

4. Understand and describe the historical circumstances and conditions that necessitated the development of civil rights and human rights protections and/or activism for various minority groups in Mississippi.
b. Identify and explain the significance of the major actors, groups and events of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid 20th century in Mississippi.

The only state adopted textbook for Mississippi Studies, written by Dr. David G. Sansing and entitled, A Place Called Mississippi (2012), confronts the tragic Till murder head-on.  In a subsection with the heading “The Murder of Emmett Till,” the author provides an overview of the crime along with two pictures—one of Till and his mother and the other of Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam—the caption reads:  “Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, seen here with his mother, was visiting his cousins in Mississippi . . . when he was brutally murdered.  The murder became a national sensation when his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral and black newspapers published photographs of his disfigured face.”  Furthermore, the caption notes that Bryant and Milam “later admitted to killing Till in an interview in Look magazine, for which they were paid $4,000” (256-257).  The next chapter (ten) focuses exclusively on “The Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1971” (262-289).

Also noteworthy is the construction of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.  The museum now under construction and subsidized by state tax dollars is scheduled to open in 2017.  Its significance is suggested by the simultaneous construction of the Museum of Mississippi History at the same location.  In fact, the two museums will “bookend” with a shared entry hall.  The estimated cost of the two facilities is $80 million.

Finally, Mississippi State University’s College of Education, which prepares more teachers than any other institution of higher learning in the state, has all the students in the elementary education (K-8) senior block read Mississippi Trial, 1955.  In fact, this book is read as the semester concludes and students develop lesson plans, which incorporate this book along with primary sources related to the case.

Much more remains to be done in Mississippi!  However, the basic decency, courtesy, and civility of Mississippians have seldom failed to impress. As Hiram Hillburn was about to board a train to leave Greenwood, he stopped in to say goodbye to Mr. Paul, a shopkeeper.   Still struggling to come to grips with Till’s death and the good and bad that resides in every individual, Hiram concluded, “a good person shouldn’t go along.  He should leave or stop whatever bad that’s happening.”  Mr. Paul’s apt reply is a humble reminder to every reader:  “Sure he should.  Sure should all of us . . . Have you always managed that?”

I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the service of our veterans. Thank you for your service. Regardless of political positions, I don’t think we should ignore people who serve and the consequences of that service on their families. I will quickly reference two of my current favorite YA novels that touch on this issue. First, Laurie Halse Anderson’s The Impossible Knife of Memory is a remarkable book for many reasons and I have linked to a thoughtful review in The New York Times by Jo Knowles to motivate you to pick up this book. Second, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sàenz is a novel that is, perhaps, about a family’s grief and depression as much as it is about sexuality. I have linked to a review by Elieen Fontenot at Latin@s in Kid lit.  Now let's move to the guest contributor.

Introducing Michael Macaluso

This week's blog posting is from Michael Macaluso. I meet Michael this summer at the CEE summer conference (this conference is a fantastic place to meet people and make connections that keep you thinking about important issues.) In this posting he talks about some of the ways his YA class discusses diversity.  Thanks Michael.

As a high school English teacher, I always attempted but struggled to find ways for making canonical literature relevant to contemporary conversations for my students. 
 
I don't have that problem with the current YAL class I teach as part of Michigan State’s Children’s and Young Adult Literature program (under the guidance of Dr. Laura Apol).  The course, Issues of Difference and Diversity in Young Adult and Multicultural Literature, is not methods based even though it is housed in a College of Education.  When I first started teaching the course, I was panicked: how would I approach such a class if I did not have to focus on literary analysis (as expected in an English class) or the pedagogical relevance and application of the literature we read (as expected in an educational methods course)?  Now, however, I find the opportunity liberating, and it has made me a born-again fan of YA literature!
 
The class reads culturally diverse literature as a vehicle to build an awareness and understanding of issues connected to difference, identity, and multiculturalism so that the future teachers enrolled in the course might become more critically and culturally conscious in their own classrooms one day.  We talk about stereotypes, privilege and oppression, identities, and single and counter stories.  Quite simply, Kirkland helps us to read with a critical multicultural approach – for the ways in which literature challenges us to think differently and for the way it challenges and affirms – in fact illuminates – contemporary conversations.  Nothing is taken for granted as we read with and against books and media. 

​For example, we recently read Openly Straight, which, like most YAL, wrestles with complex identity issues.  Our discussions centered on Rafe and Ben’s identities, the book’s stereotypes (including a “hippie” family from Colorado), and the ways in which Rafe’s story may or may not be considered a counter story.  But our discussion became more nuanced when we read a recent New York Times article about Sexual Attraction and Fluidly.  And, the novel became even more relevant when two days after we read the novel, ESPN released Olympic medalist and freeskier Gus Kenworthy’s coming out story.  His story mirrors Rafe’s story in many ways, and my students jumped on the opportunity to revisit and analyze the stereotypes and counter stories embedded in both Gus and Rafe’s stories and even in the “Comments” section of the ESPN article and Twitter posts.

In this tradition, I invited two of my students to contribute to this post, providing examples of their strong reactions to YAL.  I, like them, am grateful for the opportunity to read these books!
 
Megan Borgeson

Since taking this course, I now push myself to consider how characters are portrayed in novels, and whether or not these portrayals could be problematic or stereotypical.  When I read the book Openly Straight through the lens of this class, it caused me to make connections with my own previous assumptions of a group of people and how the book challenged these expectations.  While reading, I had to ensure that I was actively thinking about how this character was being portrayed, and whether or not these depictions were stereotypical or showing just a single story.  For example, in the novel a group of straight students decide if they can make fun of a gay person for something not involving that person’s sexuality.  This debate is a sign of privilege, and even when they are “accepted,” gay people are not truly considered to be on the same level as heterosexual people.  Themes of privilege and oppression are ones frequently discussed in our class, and have me constantly questioning the way I read novels and the world around me.  As a future teacher, it is important to be open minded and to understand that I will have students who are often underrepresented in literature taught in schools. This course has taught me that children should be reading books that challenge stereotypes and single stories, in order to get them to take a new perspective and gain a deeper understanding of the world and people around them.
 
Katie Nicholls

One book in particular, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, has made me rethink the long-standing stereotype I have had of Native Americans based off of my own experiences growing up in a largely Native American community.  The real-life experiences in this novel granted me a new perspective of an Indian population much different than the population of my own community.  It is often easy to assume a stereotype is true for an entire group of people if you have never been exposed to anything different.  However, the reality of the racist elements present in this book force the reader to become aware: aware of the stereotypes that exist, aware that the stereotypes may not fit everyone, and aware of their own prejudice thoughts – perhaps one of the most important roles that diversity plays in young adult literature.  Exposure to new perspectives from these books and class discussions have not only taught me how to read both with and against the literature we are presented, but have also showed me the multiple ways in which a person’s own life experiences can influence their interpretation of what they read.  Thus my interpretation of Absolutely True Diary could be vastly different from someone who has never been exposed to Native Americans, or vise versa, who has grown up on an Indian Reservation themselves.  Through class discussions I learn of those valuable perspectives and the different ways in which the literature we read could be interpreted.     

Michael Macaluso is a doctoral candidate in Michigan State University's Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education program.  He plans to graduate this year with an emphasis in English Education; his dissertation is titled "Examining Canonicity as a Discursive and Hidden Frame in Secondary English Teachers' Literature Pedagogy and Classrooms."

Hi all
It is my turn to write the weekly post. I have been sitting on developing information for the last several weeks. As many of you know, I directed a young adult literature conference at Louisiana State University. One of the big draws for moving to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was the opportunity to direct the Gayle A. Zeiter Literacy Development Center. Historically, among the good work the center provides, it has hosted a one day spring conference on Children’s and Young Adult Literature.

The tradition will continue.

The single day spring event will be March 5, 2016 and will serve as an introduction to the 2016 Gayle A. Zeiter Young Adult and Children’s Literature Conference that will be held the week of June 13 to June 17, 2016. The event will hosted by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), the College of Education, and the Department of Teaching & Learning along with a variety of partners that will be revealed along the way to June.

There is a big announcements today and more to come at the annual conference of the National Council of Teacher of English (NCTE) and the ALAN Workshop. Most of the keynotes are in place. Of course, the link to the conference at the top of this blog will always have updated material and provide links as they are developed. If you are interested in participating as someone who conducts a workshop or a breakout session, we will have a link for proposals in early December. We will also continue to outline registration information for academics, librarians, teachers, parents, or, dare I say it, any reader of great young adult or children’s literature. Before too long, my website and the Zeiter Center webpage will have links to how you can join in with the fun. The blog will also highlight the novels of our participating authors periodically.

Let me invite you to start reading the novels and academic work of our keynotes.

The March event will feature the wonderful Jim Blasingame as an academic keynote. He has been a mentor and a friend since I was in graduate school. He is an engaging presenter who has forgotten more about young adult literature than I pretend to know. The authors who are committed for the March date are Bill Konigsberg and Tom Leveen. Imagine how excited I was last week when Bryan Gillis referenced them both in his blog posting. Both of them have books that engage adolescents. 

​The list of committed keynotes for the summer conference is so good that is already time to fix the dates on your calendar and plan your trip to Las Vegas. It is never too early to lobby your principal or district for professional development money. The theme of the conference will focus on diversity and will echo the goals of the We Need Diverse Books campaign. During the summer conference, one of the ongoing activities will be to encourage participants to create and post their own statements about diverse books.

Here is the introduction to the Keynotes:

The academic keynotes will be Donalyn Miller, Steven T. Bickmore, Sophia Sarigianides, and Alan Sitomer. You should explore their webpages and read their academic work. The blog will be discussing more of what they have to offer over the next few months.

The author keynotes are a fantastic group and their novels cause us to consider diversity in a number of ways. The order of presentation is entirely arbitrary, each one of these authors could be the headline presenter for any conference. The first is Virginia Euwer Wolff. Virginia won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2001 for her novel True Believer. The second is Jason Reynolds. Jason recently won the John Steptoe New Talent Award for When I Was the Greatest. If you follow young adult literature at all, you know about Jason’s new book, All American Boys with Brendan Kiely has the YA community very excited. The press is recognizing this powerful book on television and radio across the US. Please check it out. The third author is Meg Medina. Meg is the winner of the Pura Belpre Award in 2014 for Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick your Ass. Come on, who doesn’t want to read this book? The fourth author is Andrew Smith. I have been a fan since I read Winger. (I keep wondering how I didn't find him sooner.) His novel, Grasshopper Jungle, is a 2015 Printz Award Honor book. If you loved Kurt Vonnegut as much as I did you can rest easy knowing that there is a writer out there keeping it weird. Our final author is Alan Sitomer. Alan has agreed to attend the conference as both an academic and an expert teacher, but he will also talk about his life and expertise as a writer.  Come join the fun. If you have a great story about one of these authors or a powerful experience with one of their books--maybe you need to be a guest contributor.