Young Authors Book Festival 2022
Since 2017, the Young Authors Book Festival (YABF) has honored and supported student voices in writing. It is geared toward promoting writing and authorship in school-age children. Collaborating with children's authors and literacy professionals, the YABF hosts a myriad of interactive activities including keynote presentations, workshops, performances, writing challenges, and more.
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Read the books from the Guest Presenters:
Jerry Craft is the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid and Class Act. New Kid is the only book in history to win the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature (2020); the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature (2019), and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for the most outstanding work by an African American writer (2020). Jerry was born in Harlem and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City.
Tim McCanna is the author and illustrator of the Peach and Plum early graphic novel series. He has also written several picture books including Bitty Bot’s Big Beach Getaway, an ALA Golden Duck Notable Picture Book, In a Garden, a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, and Watersong, a New York Public Library Best Book for Kids and NCTE Notable Poetry Book. Tim served five years as Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI’s San Francisco/South chapter, and he is a picture book specialist for Storyteller Academy. He lives with his family in San Jose, California.
LeUyen Pham is the award-winning and critically acclaimed illustrator of more than one hundred books for children. LeUyen (pronounced Lay-Win) is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of the Julianne Moore’s picture book series, Freckleface Strawberry, Kelly DiPucchio’s picture book Grace for President, God’s Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Alvin Ho series by Lenore Look, the Vampirina Ballerina picture book series by Anne Marie Pace (now a Disney Junior series), and The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman. She is also the co-creator, along with Shannon Hale, of the groundbreaking bestselling graphic memoirs Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever. Her latest self-authored endeavor, Outside, Inside, a chronicle of life in a Covid-bound world, was released in Winter of 2021. These days, LeUyen lives in Los Angeles with her husband Alex (who is also an artist), and their two adorable sons, Adrien and Leo.
Kathryn Otoshi is a multi-award winning author/illustrator and national/international speaker best known for her character-building book series, Zero, One, and Two. She goes to schools across the country to encourage kids to develop strong character assets, and helps teachers find customized, creative methods to engage students through art, reading and the power of literature. Her latest books, Beautiful Hands and Draw the Line (Roaring Brook) ask key questions about connecting, reaching out and how we build community with each other.
Jarrett J. Krosoczka is the New York Times bestselling author/illustrator behind more than forty books for young readers, including his wildly popular Lunch Lady graphic novels, select volumes of the Star Wars™: Jedi Academy series, and Hey, Kiddo, which was a National Book Award Finalist.
Realizing that his books can inspire young readers beyond the page, Krosoczka founded School Lunch Hero Day, a national campaign celebrating school lunch staff. A consummate advocate for arts education, Krosoczka also established the Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarships, which fund art classes for underprivileged children in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts.Krosoczka lives in western Massachusetts with his spouse, their three children, pugs Ralph and Frank, and a French bulldog named Bella Carmella.
Gary D. Schmidt has been on the faculty of Calvin University for a bezillion years, where he teaches creative writing, children's literature, and medieval literature. He has received two Newbery Honors (for The Wednesday Wars and Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy) and a Printz Honor (for Lizzie Bright) and is a National Book Award Finalist (for Okay for Now). He lives in rural Michigan doing chores around his two-hundred year old farmhouse, writing and being herded by Border collies.
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Deborah Hopkinson is the award-winning author of more than sixty books for young readers including picture books, middle grade historical fiction, and nonfiction. She won an Oregon book award for her middle grade novel, How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of World War II London and the Green Earth Environmental Award for Follow the Moon Home and Butterflies Belong Here, and a Sibert Honor for Titanic: Voices of the Disaster. Her 2022 titles include a picture book entitled Only One and two books in a new nonfiction series, the Deadliest. Deborah lives in Oregon.