2015 Children's Literature Festival, Day 1

Hello everyone! I just returned from attending the Warrensburg Children's Literature Festival. This festival has been running for 47 years! It is one of the longest running children's literature conferences in the nation. This festival's enduring history is largely due to the dedicated people who set it up. They have crafted the festival into an incredibly organized and prestigious event that attracts some prominent authors and illustrators.

The festival is held on the campus of the University of Central Missouri. For two days, 30+ authors give presentations about reading and writing, along with highlighting their own books, to hundreds of students and conferences goers. The conference is set up so anyone can go for either the full three days or attend one day of events.

It's become a tradition, for the past few years, that I attend this conference with my mother and two of her fellow elementary teachers: Mrs. Sigg and Mrs. Johnson. These woman are incredible! They have dedicated their lives to spreading the word about quality literature and the importance of both reading and writing. They have greatly inspired me to be the best writer and reader that I can be. I love you ladies!

For the next couple of posts, I will be highlighting each day of the festival and the author presentations we attended.

Sunday, March 15th, 2015

For those who attend the full three days, you have the option to attend the author luncheon. During this luncheon, one of the invited authors is asked to be the guest speaker. This year's speaker was Deborah Hopkinson.

Deborah Hopkinson writes non-fiction and historical fiction for young readers. In her presentation she showcased several of her books. These included Apples to Oregon (historical fiction picture book); Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building (non-fiction picture book); and The Great Trouble: A Mystery About London, The Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel (historical fiction novel). She also discussed two upcoming books: Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark (non-fiction novel, coming August 2015) and Beatrix Potter and the Unfortunate Tale of the Borrowed Guinea Pig (historical fiction picture book, coming 2016).

 

After the luncheon was complete, all those in attendance could get their books signed by the festival's authors. I ran into several of my author acquaintances as I got my books signed.

 

Here I am with my dear friend, the brilliant author and illustrator, Henry Cole.

 

Then with another friend, the amazing author I sponsored last month, Roland Smith.

 

It was a fun evening that I thoroughly enjoyed!

 

My next post will highlight the presentations on Monday, March 16th.