Thursday, April 22nd
10:15-11:15 AM CT
Tackling Tough Topics in Middle Grade – Author Panel
Speaker: Barbara O’Connor (Halfway to Harmony)
1:45 – 2:45pm CT
Black Caucus Round Table Author Session – Keynote
Speakers: Tiffany D. Jackson and Ilyasah Shabazz (The Awakening of Malcolm X)
3:00 – 4:00pm CT
Read with Pride: LGBTQ+ YA Lit – Author Panel
Speakers: Aiden Thomas (Cemetery Boys), Mike Curato (Flamer)
4:15 – 5:15pm CT
The Creative Pen: YA Authors Who Chat About the Craft – Author Panel
Speaker: Marissa Meyer (Instant Karma)
Friday, April 23rd
10:15 – 11:15am CT
Coming Soon to a Shelf Near You: Star-studded Middle Grade Fiction – Author Panel
Speakers: Kimberly Willis Holt (The Ambassador of Nowhere, Texas), Angela Dominguez (Stella Díaz Dreams Big)
12:00 – 1:00pm CT
LIbrary Friends, Trustees, and Advocates (LiFTA) Author Session – Keynote
Speaker: Gary Paulsen (Gone to the Woods)
1:45 – 2:45pm CT
Lone Star Reading List – Author Panel
Speakers: Steve Sheinkin (Fallout), April Henry (Eyes of the Forest)
1:45 – 2:45pm CT
The Suspense is Killing Me – Author Panel
Speakers: Angeline Boulley (Firekeeper’s Daughter), June Hur (The Forest of Stolen Girls)
3:00 – 4:00pm CT
Through Space & Time: YA Sci-Fi – Author Panel
Speaker: Joan He (The Ones We’re Meant to Find)
3:00 – 4:00pm CT
YA Lit: Speaking Truth to Power – Author Panel
Speakers: Tiffany D. Jackson and Ilyasah Shabazz (The Awakening of Malcolm X)
4:00 – 5:00pm CT
Go, Graphic Novels, Go! – Author Panel
Speakers: Johnathan Stutzman and Heather Fox (Fitz and Cleo)
4:00 – 5:00pm CT
Sometimes, You Just Gotta Laugh: Humor – Author Panel
Speakers: Aaron Reynolds (Fart Quest), Vera Brosgol (Memory Jars)
4:00 – 5:00pm CT
This is My Story: #OwnVoices for Children – Author Panel
Speakers: Nidhi Chanani (Jukebox and Pashmina)
Saturday, April 24th
10:15 – 11:15am CT
Move Over Dick and Jane: Connecting Beginning Readers to Fun Reads – Author Panel
Speaker: Katherine Applegate (Doggo and Pupper)
10:15 – 11:15am CT
A Beautiful Darkness (YA Dark Fantasy) – Author Panel
Speakers: Leigh Bardugo (Rule of Wolves), A.M. Strickland (In the Ravenous Dark)
1:45 – 2:45pm CT
Thrills & Chills for Kids – Author Panel
Speaker: Christian McKay Heidicker (Ghosts of Weirdwood and Scary Stories for Young Foxes: The City)
1:45 – 2:45pm CT
A Tale as Old as Time: Fairy Tale Retellings
Speakers: Anna-Marie McLemore (The Mirror Season), L.L. McKinney (A Crown So Cursed)