The 2024 Conference is free to attend and open to educators of all kinds - librarians\, teachers\, and parents. The Conference will provide professional development\, research and innovation in children&rsquo\;s literature and support networking\, collaboration an d contribute to a national dialogue. Please register- a complimentary ligh t lunch is included and you may win signed copies of some the featured tit les!
\nIF you can't make it in person JOIN US ONLINE!
\n8:30- 9:00 AM Attendee Check-In and Complimentary Coffee \;
\n9:00 AM Conference Begin s
\n9:05 AM - Creating Community Around Early Literacy in Br oward County: Celebrating 10 Years of Broward Read for the Record
\nThis panel \;presentation will discuss how Broward County wor ks across agencies and departments to bring a large scale reading and dist ribution event to over 40\,000 children each year. Our conversation will i nclude information about the featured 2024 Jumpstart Read for the Record b ook\, Piper Chen Sings. Panel members include: Maris Pasquale Dor an\, co-author of Piper Chen Sings\, Crystal Rountree\, CEO of Ju mpstart\, Cindy Arenberg Seltzer\, CEO of Children's Services Council of B roward County and Dr. Lori Canning\, Family and Community Engagement (FACE ) from Broward County Public Schools. \; \; \;
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Joi n acclaimed illustrator and graphic novelist Johnnie Christmas for an insp iring keynote talk. Known for his work on the award-winning graphic novel& nbsp\;Swim Team\, Johnnie will share his journey from aspiring ar tist to New York Times bestselling author. He will discuss the creative pr ocess behind his most celebrated works\, including the challenges and triu mphs of bringing diverse characters and stories to life.
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12 PM - Lunchtime Author Chat with Katherine Appl egate and Gennifer Choldenko \; \;
\nJoin us for an
engaging lunchtime chat with award-winning authors Katherine Applegate an
d Gennifer Choldenko as they discuss their collaborative series\, \;
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1:15 PM - \; \; Conversation with Sika Dagbovie Mullins and Raj Tawney \;
\nNew York Times \;essayist\, Raj Tawney\, delivers a gripping sto ry \;of a multi-ethnic American boy who forges a complex friendship wi th a Pakistani immigrant in the wake of 9/11. Based on the author's person al life experiences\, an insightful middle-grade novel from a fresh voice in children's fiction that will be felt long after the last page.
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2:15 PM - Creating a Culture of Reading through a discuss ion with 2024 Sunshine State Reader&rsquo\;s Award Books Authors (In- Pers on and Online Panel)
\nThis author panel will discuss readi ng motivation and reader's advisory through the use of state reading lists and the author's point of view. \;
\nIn Person Moderator and Pa nel Authors: Diana Haneski\, Library Media Specialist\, Marjory Stoneman D ouglas High School\, Kerry O'Malley Cerra\, author \;of Hear Me (SSYRA Grades 6-8)\; Natalia Sylvester\, author of Breathe and Coun t Back from Ten (Florida Teen Reads)\; \;and \;Betty Culley ( presenting online)\, author of The Name She Gave Me.
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Online Panel Authors: Mitali Banerjee Ruths (SSYRA Jr.- presenting online)\, co-a uthor of Awesome Orange Birthday\; Carmen Agra Deedy (SSYRA Jr.- presenting online)\, author of Carina Felina and \;Betty Cull ey (presenting online)\, author of The Name She Gave Me.
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4:00 PM - 2024 Miami Book Fai r Featured Online Author: Alexis Castellanos \; \;
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\nFeatured Authors and Presenters (In Order of Sessions)
\nMaris Pasquale Doran\, LCSW has always loved liste ning to and learning from people&rsquo\;s personal narratives and has evol ved her career in social work to include writing and creating her own char acters and stories. She continues to work as a private psychotherapist and is an adjunct lecturer at Columbia University&rsquo\;s School of Social W ork. She lives in Maplewood\, NJ with her husband and two young children. Reading to them is always her favorite part of the day.
\nCrystal Rountree joined Jumpstart as its \;new Chief Executive Officer in January 2024. She most recently served as the Chief Revenue and Development Officer at Teach For America (TFA) \;where she served on staff since 2005. As Chi ef Revenue and Development Officer Crystal was responsible for leading the team that grew\, strengthened\, and diversified TFA's philanthropic partn erships and revenue pathways to optimize and maximize contributions to TFA &rsquo\;s impact. \; \;
\nCindy Arenberg Seltzer h as played a pivotal role as the inaugural President/CEO of the Children&rs quo\;s Services Council of Broward County since the voters authorized it i n September 2000 and reauthorized it in 2014. Her leadership has been inst rumental in shaping the organization&rsquo\;s mission and guiding its deve lopment toward substantially impacting the lives of children and families. She has been honored for her leadership and commitment to excellence on n umerous occasions throughout her career\, including\, most recently\, indu ction into the Broward County Women&rsquo\;s Hall of Fame\, honored as a N eighborhood Hero by Neighbors 4 Neighbors\, recognition of CSC as a Sun-Se ntinel Top Workplace in 2023 and 2024\, and receiving the Leadership Award in the Small Employer Group from the Sun-Sentinel Top Work Places 2024.&n bsp\;
\nDr. Lori Canning is the Executive Director of Family and Community Engagement (F ACE) at Broward County Public Schools where she leads the programs and partnerships at Gulfstream Early Learning Center and the departments of F amily and Community Engagement. Additionally\, she is a leader in the Brow ard Reads Campaign and Serves on the Board of the Healthy Start Coalition. \;
\nJohnnie Christm as is a #1 New York Times Best Selling graphic novelist. His 2022 midd le grade graphic novel debut Swim Team earned a spot on the Natio nal Book Awards longlist\, a Coretta Scott King Award Illustrator Honor an d a Harvey Awards nomination. A graduate of the Pratt Institute in Brookly n\, NY\, earning a BFA in Communication Design/Illustration. Johnnie makes Vancouver\, BC his home.
\nKatherine Applegate \;is the \;New York Times&ndash\;bestse lling author of \;Wishtree\, \;Crenshaw\, \;Willodeen \, \;and \;Home of the Brave\, as well as \;The O ne and Only Ivan\, winner of the Newbery Medal\, and its sequel \ ;The One and Only Bob. She lives in Southern California with her family. \;
\nGennifer C holdenko&rsquo\;s best known Tales from Alcatraz series\, has been called &ldquo\;A cornerstone series in contemporary children&rsquo\; s literature.&rdquo\; \;Al Capone Does My Shirts&mdash\;the f irst book in the series&mdash\;was a Newbery Honor Book and the recipient of twenty other awards. All four books in the series were Junior Library G uild selections and garnered many starred reviews. Gennifer lives in the S an Francisco Bay area with her loyal husband and naughty dog.
\nSika Da gbovie-Mullins is a professor in the Department of English at Florida Atlantic University where she specializes in twentieth and twenty-first ce ntury African American literature. She is author of Crossing B(l)ack: Mixed Race Identity in Modern American Fiction and Culture \;(Uni versity of Tennessee Press\, 2013) and co-editor of Mixed-Race Superhe roes (Rutgers University Press\, 2021) which examines representations of racial mixedness and the idea of the superhero. Her current project\, Black Place in Florida\, is a co-edited anthology that will explo re how black Floridians\, with origins from across the diaspora\, claim sp ace or take up place in the state. She serves on the editorial board of th e University Press of Florida and the Journal of Popular Culture.
\n\;Raj Tawney is a writer and jou rnalist whose work largely reflects his mixed-race upbringing in suburban Long Island\, NY. Born to an Indian\, Puerto Rican\, and Italian American family\, Tawney has explored his identity through personal essays publishe d in The New York Times\, The Washington Post\, USA Today\, and other outl ets throughout the country. His debut memoir Colorful Palate: A Flavor ful Journey Through a Mixed American Experience (Fordham University P ress) was published in 2023 to much acclaim. His upcoming book All Mix ed Up \;will release in October 2024. He is based in Miami\, Flor ida.
\nDiana Haneski\, is known for her enthusiasm\, energy\, and willingness to help student s and teachers find the books they want to read and the information and re sources they need. As a library teacher for 26 years\, Haneski holds Natio nal Board Certification in Library Media\, a Master of Science in Library Studies\, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Speech and Theatre. \;Diana Haneski has presented at conferences and has trained her colleague s in Broward for two decades. Most recently\, Diana along with MSD therapy dog River\, focus on mindfulness and self-care not only in Broward but th roughout Florida and nationwide. Diana is a \;I Love My Librarian Award 2024 Ho noree.
\nK erry O&rsquo\;Malley Cerra is an award-winning author of middle grade books. A deaf author herself (who now hears with the help of one cochlear implant)\, she&rsquo\;s passionate about books that depict d/Deaf and/or h earing loss experiences for children. Kerry\, a former high school media s pecialist and social studies teacher\, lives in South Florida with her hus band and two poorly behaved rescue dogs.
\nBorn in Lima\, Peru\, Natalia Sylvester is an award
-winning author of books for children\, teens\, and young adults\, among t
hem Running (2020) and Everyone Knows You Go Home (2018)
\, which won the International Latino Book Award. Her latest YA novel\,
Mitali Banerjee Ruths (presenting online)\, grew up in Houston\, TX and drea med of becoming an astronaut someday. She writes early in the morning on p aper and types late at night on her computer. She loves telling stories\, eating cookies\, knitting sweaters\, and going for walks in beautiful land scapes. She lives in Canada with her husband\, three kids\, and their dog Tux. One day\, she would like to orbit the earth and knit in zero gravity with floating yarn while watching a sunrise every 90 minutes.
\nCarmen Agra Deedy (presenting online)\, is an award-winning author of fifteen books for young readers. H er personal stories first appeared on NPR&rsquo\;s All Things Considered. Funny\, insightful\, and frequently irreverent\, Deedy&rsquo\;s narratives are culled from her childhood as a Cuban refugee in Decatur\, GA. She is host of the Emmy-winning children&rsquo\;s program\, \;Love That B ook!
\nBetty \ ;Culley \;(presenting online) is the award-winning author of \ ;young adult and middle grade novels. \;She&rsquo\;s also an RN who wo rked as an obstetrics nurse and as a pediatric home hospice nurse. She liv es in central Maine\, where the rivers run through the small towns.
\n< p>Robin Ha \;(presenting online) is the award-winning author/illustrator of the graphi c novel memoir \;Almost American Girl. At fourteen she moved to the United States from Seoul\, Korea. Her comics and illustrations have appeared in various publications\, including the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times\, as well as in anthologies highlighting Asian American culture\, including Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now\, New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei\, and Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology (Secret Identities). She is also the a uthor of the best-selling comic recipe book \;Cook Korean!: A Comi c Book With Recipes. Her new graphic novel\, \;The Fox Maiden s \;is published by Balzer and Bray in February 2024.\nAlexis Castellanos \;(presen ting online) is the author of \;Guava &\; Grudges \;(Bloomsbury ) and \;Isla to Island \;(Simon &\; Schuster)\, an Eisner-nomin ated and award-winning graphic novel. Born in Miami\, Fl\, she studied the atre design and technology in college and landed in New York City after gr aduation working as a scenic artist before transitioning into publishing a s a graphic designer. When she&rsquo\;s not working she can be found tackl ing a new sewing project\, playing D&\;D\, or cooking up a storm. For n ow she&rsquo\;s calling Los Angeles home\, where she lives with her partne r and two spoiled cats.
\nThe 2024 Conference on Children's Literatu re is generously funded by the \;Broward Public Library Foundation\, \;Children's Services Council of Broward \;and Florida Virtual School. The Ashley Bryan Art Series is generously funded by the Helios Education Foundation. \ ; Natalia Sylvester is generously funded by Reforma de Florida. \; \; \; \;
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This program is presented throu gh collaborations and partnerships with \;Broward Reads: The Cam paign for Grade-Level Reading\; \;Jumpstart for Young Children\, \;Miami Book Fair \;and Books &\; Books. Books will be available for sale through Confer ence on Children's Literature book provider Books &\; Books.
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About the African American Researc
h Library and Cultural Center \;
The \;Broward Count
y African American Research Library and Cultural Center \;(AARLCC)&nbs
p\;is located in the Sistrunk community\, one of the oldest historically B
lack communities named for one of Fort Lauderdale&rsquo\;s first Black phy
sicians. Opening to the public on October 26\, 2002\, AARLCC became the th
ird public library of its kind in the United States dedicated to the study
of Black history and culture. The 60\,000 square-foot Center serves as a
repository of materials related to the local\, national\, and internationa
l voices of the African diaspora with more than 85\,000 books\, manuscript
s\, artifacts\, framed art\, print\, photography\, audiovisual\, and docum
ents held in our Adult Services Section and Special Collections. The Youth
Services Section features a special collection of Coretta Scott King Awar
d books and the \;Ashley Bryan Art Collection \;from illustrators
of African Descent. AARLCC also features a 5\,000 sq. ft. museum\, a 300-s
eat state-of-the-art theatre\, and a Computer Training Center.
