Posts Tagged book festivals

WNDMG Wednesday – The Latinx Kidlit Book Festival, fighting for Latinx voices in the world of children’s books

We Need Diverse MG Logo hands holding reading globe with stars and spirals floating around

Illustration by: Aixa Perez-Prado

More Than One Way to Fight For Diverse Representation in Kidlit

Demands for diverse representation in Kidlit have grown louder in recent years with the help of organizations like the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival and individuals alike that have taken to different methods to amplify this critical need. Why? Because all children deserve to find representation in books and it’s equally as important for kids to observe the world through diverse perspectives.

How It Started

The teachers, families, students, and creators fighting the good fight against book banning, educational oppression, and the inadequacy of diversity in children’s titles are best armed with resources, one of the founding bases that spearheaded the creation of the online Latinx Kidlit Book Festival (LKBF).

LKBF was created in 2020 during the COVID pandemic by members of Las Musas Books (founders Alexandra Villasante, Ismee Williams, and Mayra Cuevas). Their aim was to connect Latinx authors and illustrators with readers and educators in classrooms around the globe. It was a response to the disparaging lack of access kids had to books by Latinx creators and the inequities in Kidlit that became even more obvious when the world went virtual.

founders of LKBF on mission for diverse representation in Kidlit

Educator Resources

Three years later, the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival has grown in its offerings and programming. Affording educators across the country opportunities to bring authors and illustrators to their schools; gifting free sets of books to classrooms and libraries; and providing a free virtual festival each year during Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month, streamable from YouTube with flexible and engaging segments for kids of all ages.

On the festival’s website, teachers and librarians can find helpful resources like educator guides, 5-Minute craft videos, and a brand new book database set to launch tomorrow, June 15! 

This new public database supplies all Kidlit lovers looking for stories from Latinx creators to add to their libraries. The LKBF Book Database offers the ability to sort by age category, genre, and more, making it easier for teachers and librarians to find books for their favorite bookworms from picture books to young adult novels. While this database will serve educators with valuable information to help curate their bookshelves, it can also serve as an eye opener for publishing insiders as to the gaps that still exist within Latinx kidlit stories.

At a birds-eye view, the LKBF has the appearance of a hub where all who long for equitable Latinx representation in children’s books can come together to make change happen. Authors that refuse to quiet their stories, illustrators that paint Latinx truths, teachers and librarians that incorporate the festival into their agendas so that their students have exposure to diverse works of art, and families in search of Latinx Kidlit content for their children; all help to shape LKBF as it continues to grow and bring to bear their mission to foster a love of story and literacy as well as increase empathy and conversation among educators, students, and book lovers while uplifting the voices of Latinx kidlit book creators.

Who, What, When, Where, and I’ve Already Laid Out the Why

The 2023 Latinx Kidlit Book Festival can be streamed from YouTube (subscribe here) on four consecutive Fridays: September 22, September 29, October 6, and October 13. Whether watching from a school, library, or home, viewers can meet their favorite Latinx authors and illustrators of picture books, middle-grade and young-adult novels, poetry, comic books, and graphic novels! Past festival participants have included award-winning and fan-favorite middle-grade authors like Alda P. Dobbs, Claribel A. Ortega, Meg Medina, Ernesto Cisneros, Torrey Maldonado, and more!

diverse representation in Kidlit streaming into classrooms

Join the many classrooms and libraries that have enjoyed this interactive festival and the opportunities it provides children of all ages such as the possibility to win a free class set (30) of books when a student’s question is selected for use during the program (more on that here).

Save the dates, bookworms! And subscribe to their newsletter today because you WILL NOT want to miss all of this year’s programming announcements. 2023 is prepping to be bigger and better than ever!

((If you enjoyed this article, you’ll love this book list blog: Diversity in MG Lit #43 March & April 2023))

Book Festivals: Are They Worth the Time and Travel?

Photo by Laura Hays Hoover

Take a look at that picture. There’s a lot happening there. A lot. It was taken at the annual Ohioana Book Festival, held each April in Columbus, Ohio. Featuring 150 authors from all genres, it’s a flurry of literary hoopla.

Book festivals happen in major cities and small towns across the country each year. Fall seems to be a particularly popular season for book festivals, so I decided to devote a few minutes to dissecting the costs and benefits of book festivals – for authors and consumers alike.

So what’s in a book festival for…

Teachers and Librarians?  Uh, well, books!  It’s no secret that teachers and librarians love books. They love to read and collect them, and they, above all others, are usually interested in learning what’s new in world of literature. In order to remain fresh and interesting, most book festivals only offer slots to authors who have a new book, released within the past year, or sometimes two. Book festivals are a great way to see, hold, and peruse the newest releases.

Teachers and librarians who are looking to hire authors to speak at their venues can do a little reconnaissance at a book festival. Talking face-to-face with a potential speaker can provide lots of good information about their enthusiasm and their potential to captivate with your audience – something that’s hard to gauge from a website.  Sometimes, teachers and librarians might connect in person with an author they already know via social media. It was great to meet the real Ms. Yingling from Ms. Yingling Reads, a favorite middle-grade book blog, which you can find HERE.

Can you see the mutual admiration?

Parents and Families?  Most book festivals are family friendly, with kids corners and teen scenes and reading rooms and roaming storybook characters and face painting and food – of course, there must be food. I love watching families come by my table. I eavesdrop and hear young readers tell their parents “I read that at school” or “I love that author!” I hear families talking about what books to read together and what books to add to wish lists. I see parents getting a better understanding of their child’s likes and dislikes when it comes to reading. And I see lots of tigers, butterflies, and dragons on faces where the smile didn’t need to be painted.

Young readers get artsy making thaumatropes at the Buckeye Book Fair in Wooster, Ohio.

Authors and Illustrators? While attending a book festival is usually free for consumers, the cost of participation may vary for authors and illustrators.  Most book festivals don’t charge authors a fee, but participating authors are carefully selected by the organizers in order to reflect a wide variety of genres. Authors and illustrators are sometimes invited and sometimes they apply. If invited or accepted, authors must consider the cost of an entire day away from their work and travel and, sometimes, lodging near the venue. Some authors find that only a handful of their books were sold after hours of sitting behind a table, engaging in lively conversation with potential consumers. It can be exhausting. But, creators must consider the benefits of attending a large book festival, and there are many. Authors and illustrators often work alone. It’s good to get out of writing caves and interact with the very people for whom we write.  Meeting our audience gives us connection and puts faces to the vague terms “readers” and “middle-graders” and “consumers.” I also have to say that connecting with fellow authors is inspiring and refreshing. I look forward to several festivals a year because I know I will see other authors. Finally, I’ve been invited to many a school or library after meeting a teacher or librarian at a book festival, so often the benefits more than outweigh the cost of travel and lodging.

Nancy Roe Pimm, Julie K. Rubini, Cynthia A. Crane, and Michelle Houts participate in a Middle-Grade Biographies Panel Discussion at the 2019 Ohioana Book Festival

Catching up with children’s nonfiction author Mary Kay Carson at Books By the Banks in Cincinnati

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It would be impossible to list every great book festival in the U.S. here, but I’ll start us off with a few that I’ve attended or hope to attend someday. In the comments below, please add more! And whether you’re a teacher, librarian, parent, author, or illustrator, I hope you’ll consider spending a day at a book festival near you. You just never know who you’ll meet!

Who knew Darth Vader was a Charley Harper fan?

A Short List of Book Festivals – add more in the comments below!

Ohioana Book Festival –  April – Columbus, OH

Southern Kentucky Book Fest – April – Bowling Green, KY

Hudson Children’s Book Festival – May – Hudson, NY

Claire’s Day – May – Toledo/Maumee, OH

Chesapeake Bay Children’s Book Festival – June – Easton, MD

Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival – September – Sheboygan, WI

Princeton Children’s Book Festival – September – Princeton, NJ

Books by the Banks – October – Cincinnati, OH

Warwick Children’s Book Festival – October – Warwick, NY

Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival – October – Chappaqua, NY

Texas Book Festival – October – Austin, TX

Twin Cities Book Festival – October – St. Paul, MN

Buckeye Book Fair – November – Wooster, OH

Kentucky Book Fair – November – Lexington, KY

Rochester Children’s Book Festival – November – Rochester, NY

Wordstock – November – Portland, OR

Western New York Children’s Book Expo – November – Buffalo, NY