Spring has arrived and the University of Alabama campus is dressed in green. Appropriately for the season, I just spent two days in the refreshing company of writers, illustrators, educators, librarians and students at the National Latino Children’s Literature Conference, held in a bright lecture hall on the second floor of Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library at UA.
Chalk up another one to serendipity. I only found out about this conference by browsing the School of Library and Information Studies website a couple of months ago. The conference chair, Dr. Jamie Naidoo, is a professor at SLIS who is nationally known for his expertise in multicultural children’s literature. Contacts were made and Dr. Naidoo graciously reopened the roster of presenters to let in a green-as-spring author—me!
The conference was a joy. When we weren’t listening to keynote addresses, attendees and presenters mingled freely, networked, and formed friendships. There’s nothing like sage advice and affirmation from those that have gone before you, and that’s what I received in abundance.
Back row, L to R: René, Alma, John, Isabel, Joe;
Front row, L to R: Jamie, Lila, Monica, Meg
Now meet some of my new friends through a sample of their books:
Dr. Alma Flor Ada
Learn more: http://almaflorada.com/
Dr. Isabel Campoy, co-authored with Dr. Ada:
Learn more: http://isabelcampoy.com/
Dr. Monica Brown, with illustrator John Parra:
Learn more: http://www.monicabrown.net/
http://johnparraart.com/home.htm
Meg Medina:
Learn more: http://megmedina.com/
René Colato Laínez, with illustrator Joe Cepeda:
Learn more: http://renecolatolainez.com/
HI LILA….I met you at the Latino Children’s Lit conference last spring. I wanted to let you know that our library system has finally bought Darkroom. I enjoyed reading it and have been recommending it ever since. I hope you have another book out soon!
Hello, Cindy! That conference was the best! It introduced me to the fiercest advocates of Latino lit: librarians! I’m glad to know that your library has a copy of Darkroom. It’s unreal to think that people I’ve never met will be reading its pages. I owe that to you! And yes, I’m working on a new project, but it’s a long way from seeing the light… Stay tuned. And thank you for writing!–Lila