(269) 553-7879 | farrellh@kpl.gov

Registration is Open for the 2020 Kalamazoo Public Library Youth Literature Seminar
Featuring Award-Winning Authors Candace Fleming, Varian Johnson & Paula Yoo

Kalamazoo, MI, Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Registration is now open for the 2020 Kalamazoo Public Library Youth Literature Seminar. This year's event is free and will be held online on Friday, November 13, 2020, 8:30 am–3:30 pm. Registration is required. Visit www.kpl.gov/yls to learn more about the featured speakers, breakout sessions, schedule and to register to receive the link to attend.

Seminar Topic: The Time is Now

The traumatic events that have occurred during most of 2020 have drawn many comparisons to similar events in U.S. history. A pandemic, racism, political and civil unrest, and a floundering economy have not only caused many people to experience severe emotional and mental distress but have also torn open old scars for those who have survived similar events.

This year’s Youth Literature Seminar will focus not only on how our present echoes our past, but also how historical trauma affects how we respond to current tragedies. Join us as we examine our past, its impact on our present and our future, and how books can help guide us through a process of healing, growth, and unity.

Featured Speakers:

Candace Fleming: is the versatile and acclaimed author of more than forty books for children and young adults, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize honored The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of the Russian Empire; Boston Globe/Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns; the bestselling picture book, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!; the Sibert-Award-winning Giant Squid; and the beloved Boxes for Katje. She contributed the chapter on Katharine of Aragon to Fatal Throne.

Varian Johnson: is the author of nine novels, including The Parker Inheritance, which was named a 2019 Coretta Scott King Honor Book and a 2018 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book among other accolades. His middle-grade caper novel, The Great Greene Heist, has been named to over twenty-five state reading and best-of lists. In addition, Varian has written for the Spirit Animals: Fall of the Beasts middle-grade fantasy series as well as novels and short stories for YA audiences.

Paula Yoo: is the author of many published children’s books and YA novels. Her latest Young Adult narrative non-fiction book is From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement. Her books have won many awards, including IRA Notables, Junior Guild Library Selections, and starred reviews from Kirkus. Her debut YA novel Good Enough was one of the winners of the Asian Pacific American Awards for Youth Literature.

Additional speakers include Ed Spicer, Cindy Dobrez, Lynn Rutan, Tiffany Goliday, John Kreider, Heather-Marie Montilla, Tasha Turner-Freeman, Jean Alicia Elster, and Deborah Diesen. Visit www.kpl.gov/yls to learn more about these speakers and the breakout sessions they are leading.

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