Katherine Paterson to Kick Off SLJ's Day of Dialog
RSSBy SLJ Staff
School Library Journal's Day of Dialog takes place only once a year, so if you're in New York City for this month's BookExpo America—or just live in commuting distance—make sure to join your fellow librarians, publishers, and authors to explore the most pressing issues and trends facing the book and library world for children and teens. Malinda Lo, author of Huntress (Little, Brown, 2011), Cindy Pon, author of Fury of the Phoenix (Greenwillow, 2011), and Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy Summer (HarperCollins, 2010) are among the scheduled writers who'll take part in the panel "Diversity in YA literature: where we are and where we'd like to be." Donald Crews, author/illustrator of the Freight Train (Greenwillow, 1978), talks about his role in helping to create an interactive app based on his Caldecott-honor picture book. The popular app includes games that help kids learn how to read, recognize colors, and learn vocabulary. He'll be joined by other presenters looking at how children's apps are being produced and how libraries can use them. Authors Matt de la Peña (A Nation's Hope [Dial, 2011]), Meghan McCarthy (The Incredible Life of Balto [Knopf, 2011]), Patrick McDonnell (Me...Jane [Little, Brown, 2011]), and Melissa Sweet (Balloons Over Broadway [Houghton Harcourt, 2011]) will talk about picture book biographies, and there's also a panel taking a look at the experiences of some stellar debut authors, like Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark & Grimm [Dutton, 2010]), Julie Kagawa, (The Iron Queen [Harlequin Teen, 2011]), Thanhha Lai, (Inside Out & Back Again [HarperCollins, 2011]), and Dave Roman, (Astronaut Academy [First Second, 2011]). We've also lined up Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, as our guest lunch speaker, as well as two publisher pitch sessions with the latest on scores of new books. The fun starts at 8 a.m. and ends 6 p.m., so make sure to join us for a full day of panels and presentations, as well as breakfast, lunch, and a closing reception with lots of opportunities to network with colleagues and authors—and possibly get a few author signatures. Check out a full schedule of the day's program. Space is limited, so register soon. The cost is $39.95 or $29.95 for SLJ subscribers. This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe.
Katherine Paterson, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, kicks off our daylong event on Monday, May 23 at Fordham University's Lincoln Center Campus, where she'll talk about her new middle-grade novel, The Flint Heart (Candlewick, 2011), which is co-written with her husband John Paterson and is being made into a live-action film.
