Author Kwame Alexander will provide the closing keynote at the 21st SLJ Summit, which will be held Nov 7–9 in Baltimore.

The Newbery winner, podcaster, producer, and poet recently launched One Word at a Time, a nonprofit aimed at boosting the love of reading and writing among 8- to 15-year-olds. He will follow his keynote with a book signing.

As in years past, the SLJ Summit weekend will provide sessions, workshops, and panel discussions with clear takeaways for the day-to-day work of school librarians, along with the chance to network with peers, share expertise and experiences, and leave inspired and energized heading back to school on Monday.

Tim Jones, the 2025 SLJ School Librarian of the Year, will kick off the conference Saturday, followed by sessions on advocacy and organizing for the right to read and collaborating with public libraries.

An author panel on graphic novel adaptations will include Dan Santat, Colleen AF Venable, and Jeffrey Brown.

On Sunday, 2022 School Librarian of the Year K.C. Boyd will be part of a panel on nurturing a culture of reading at school.

Breakout sessions throughout the weekend will offer time for conversations and workshopping on topics including teaching media literacy, AI, creative social media messaging for your library, book reviews 101, and more.

Learn more about the program and register to join us in November.