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KEYNOTES AND FEATURED AUTHORS
Lit Lounge Welcome Reception
Please RSVP by selecting attendance in registration. The event is included in the conference price.​
Begin your Summer Institute experience at our Lit Lounge Welcome Reception. Join us for an evening of connection, conversation, and celebration featuring acclaimed authors Samira Ahmed and Laurel Snyder, moderated by FeFe Handy.
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sUNDAY NIGHT, jUNE 7
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Sponsored By Page Turners Make Great Learners
Samira Ahmed
Samira Ahmed is the bestselling author of Love, Hate & Other Filters, Internment, Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know, Hollow Fires, and the Amira & Hamza middle-grade duology, as well as a Ms. Marvel comic book mini-series. Her poetry, essays, and short stories have appeared in numerous publications and anthologies including the New York Times, Take the Mic, Color Outside the Lines, Vampires Never Get Old and A Universe of Wishes.​
Laurel snyder
Laurel Snyder is the author of more than thirty books for children, including the Geisel-winning Charlie and Mouse series (with EmilyHughes), the Sydney Taylor Award-winning The Longest Night (withCatia Chien), and Orphan Island, which was longlisted for the
National Book Award. Her newest picture book, Shrinking Violet (with LeUyen Pham) is forthcoming. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Laurel also writes occasionally for such outlets as The New York Times, The Atlantic, and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Monday keynote, June 8
Librarian and author Cicely Lewis
cicely lewis
Cicely Lewis, the School Library Journal School Librarian of the Year in 2020 and founder of the award-winning Read Woke® movement, is redefining what it means to engage students through literacy in the digital age. A school librarian, author of 13 books, and tech-savvy educator, she empowers students to read critically, think deeply, and use their voices for change. In 2023, she was honored with the Shirlyn Johnson-Granville’s Children & Youth Community Service Award by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Through her School Library Journal column and her starred-reviewed books: Imani Picks Up the Pieces and We Shall Not Be Denied, Cicely is a leading voice in the advocacy for intellectual freedom. Follow her on socials: @cicelythegreat.
Tuesday author keynote, june 9
John Shu
John Shu
John Schu has made a career out of advocating for the people and things he cares about most: kids, books, and the people who connect them. He is the children’s librarian for Bookelicious and the New York Times best-selling author of Louder Than Hunger; This Is a School, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison; This Is a Story, illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Lauren Castillo; Ruthie Rose’s Big Idea, illustrated by Holly Hatam; Lily-May’s Joyful Day, illustrated by Holly Hatam; and The Gift of Story: Exploring the Affective Side of the Reading Life. John Schu lives in Naperville, Illinois
