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Some of the nation’s top authors and illustrators of children’s books will speak during the 42nd Annual Conference on Children’s Literature March 4-5 at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education in Athens.

The popular conference is a celebration of children’s literature and the culmination of the Georgia Book Award programs that involves thousands of Georgia children in reading every year. Winners of the Georgia Children’s Book Award and the Georgia Children’s Picture Storybook Award are invited each year to the conference to speak and accept their awards.

This year’s conference features five award-winning authors:

Ada

Alma Flor Ada, professor emerita at the University of San Francisco and author of The Gold Coin, winner of the Christopher Medal, Under the Royal Palms, winner of the Pura Belpré Medal, and My Name is Maria Isabel, a NCSS and CBC Notable Book;

Anderson

M.T. Anderson, author of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party, winner of the National Book Award; The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom of the Waves, a Michael L. Printz Honor for literary excellence in young adult literature, and Feed, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner, and the Pals in Peril series;

Beaumont

Karen Beaumont, author of I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!, winner of the 2009-10 Georgia Picture Storybook Award, Baby Danced the Polka, I Like Myself, and Doggone Dogs!;

Gibbons

Gail Gibbons, distinguished author of Hurricanes!, Tornadoes!, Snakes, Alligators and Crocodiles, and Elephants of Africa; and

Hahn

Mary Downing Hahn, author of The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story, Time for Andrew, and Deep and Dark and Dangerous, all three Georgia Children’s Books Award winners, and Stepping on the Cracks, winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Scores of K-8th grade teachers and library media specialists, as well as many public librarians throughout Georgia attend the conference, sponsored by the UGA College of Education’s department of language and literacy education. The Georgia Children’s Book Award was established in 1968 by Sheldon Root, a professor in UGA’s department of language education. The purpose of the award is to foster a love of reading in the children of Georgia and to introduce them to a collection of engaging books of literary excellence.

In addition to the author sessions, the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl State finals and author autographs are popular events. Typically, each speaker is available for autographing several times during the conference. A rich and varied number of small group sessions that address ways to foster the enjoyment and the teaching of literature in the home, classroom, school media centers and public libraries also are offered. In addition to books by all of the session speakers, other children’s books and professional books also are available for purchase. The conference concludes with students of Red Clay Writing Project teachers reading picture books they have written which have been selected as “Most Humorous,” “Most Likely to Change the World,” and other awards. The Red Clay Writing Project is a professional development group for language education teachers, based in the College of Education.

The reduced early registration fee deadline is February 18.

For more information or to register online visit:
http://www.gcbac.com/