Events for Children and Young Adults

Fostering the importance of literacy and encouraging the joy of literature in a young person's life is an important part of the Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word. 

The children's and young adult programs at the Festival are great opportunities for librarians, educators, and parents to seek and find the latest authors and hot discussion topics. All ages will find something they love at the Southern Festival of Books. Children's and young adult events at the Southern Festival of Books take place on Saturday and Sunday only.

If you are a children's or young adult author interested in being on a panel as part of the 25th annual Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word (October 11-13, 2013) please send in 2 copies of your most recent book, a press kit, and author bio to:

Southern Festival of Books
Attn: Youth Program Committee
306 Gay St
STE 306
Nashville, TN 37201

Submissions will be accepted between January 1 and June 1, 2013.

Teachers, librarians, parents, students, and book clubs: Find out more about how to get your students and kids involved in the Southern Festival of Books.

Children's and Young Adult authors on the 2012 Southern Festival of Books program:

 A-H     I-P     Q-Z     Youth Stage Schedule

• Julianna Baggott is the author of many books including national bestseller Girl Talk. Her work has appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Best American Poetry 2000, 180 More Extraordinary Poems for Everyday (ed. Billy Collins), The Southern Review, TriQuarterly, Virginia Quarterly Review, Poetry, Glamour, Ms. Magazine, and read on NPR's Talk of the Nation. Her books have received critical acclaim from reviewers and fellow authors alike. www.juliannabaggott.com Pure
• E.D. Baker is the author of The Wide Awake Princess, Fairy Lies, Fairy Wings, and the (eight) Tales of the Frog Princess including The Frog Princess,which was the inspiration for Disney's hit movie "The Princess and the Frog." She lives with her family and their horses in rural Maryland. www.edbakerbooks.com Unlocking the Spell: A Tale of the Wide-Awake Princess
• Kelly Barnhill is a poet and writer. The Mostly True Story of Jack, her debut novel, received four starred reviews. Kelly lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children. kellybarnhill.wordpress.com Iron Hearted Violet
• Alex Beard is a painter and author who has emerged as one of his generation's most creative and successful artists. Alex studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts and participated in the New York Studio School's Drawing Marathon. A firm believer that art is a medium that should be accessible to everyone, Alex uses uncommon avenues to share the creative experience with people of all ages. Through his unique combination of storytelling and art activities, Alex has had the opportunity to draw, paint, and talk about art with tens of thousands of children. He and his family live in New Orleans where he owns the Alex Beard Studio in the French Quarter. www.alexbeardstudio.com Crocodile's Tears
• Carolyn J. Brown, from Jackson, MS is a writer, editor, and independent scholar. She has taught at University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Elon University, and Millsaps College. Her work has been published in College Language Journal and Notes on Mississippi Writers. www.carolynjbrown.net  
  A Daring Life: A Biography of Eudora Welty      
• Tami Lewis Brown is the author of the picture book Soar, Elinor!, illustrated by François Roca. She holds a MFA in writing for children from Vermont College and lives in Washington, D.C. The Map of Me is her first novel. www.tamilewisbrown.com The Map of Me
• Sharon Cameron was awarded the 2009 Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' Sue Alexander Award for Most Promising New Work for The Dark Unwinding, her debut novel. When not writing, Sharon can be found thumbing through dusty tomes, shooting a longbow, or indulging her lifelong search for secret passages. She lives in Nashville with her family. www.sharoncameronbooks.com The Dark Unwinding
• Patrick Carman is a man with a mission--to get kids reading. He is the author of book five in The 39 Clues, and is also the creator of Skeleton Creek, a gripping, spooky adventure story told in episodes that alternate between chapters in the books and online videos. Early in his career, Carman started an advertising agency, created board games, and developed and sold a "dotcom" before finding the thing he was really meant to do: write youth fiction. While reading to his two young daughters, he began spinning the tale that became the New York Times bestselling The Land of Elyon series. Patrick Carman lives with his family in Walla Walla, Washington. www.patrickcarman.com 3 Below: Floors Book 2 
• Sharon Creech is the author of the Newbery Medal winner Walk Two Moons, the Newbery Honor winner The Wanderer, and the Carnegie Medal winner Ruby Holler. Her other works include The Unfinished Angel, Hate That Cat, The Castle Corona, Replay, Heartbeat, Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, Love That Dog, Bloomability, Absolutely Normal Chaos, Chasing Redbird, and Pleasing the Ghost, as well as three picture books, A Fine, Fine School; Fishing in the Air; and Who's That Baby? Sharon Creech and her husband live in upstate New York. sharoncreech.com The Great Unexpected
• Kimberly Dana is an award-winning author and middle school teacher who relies on her students to provide her with insight into the world of tweendom. She is the recipient of several writing honors from Writer's Digest and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. Kimberly lives in Los Angeles and Nashville with her husband and their spoiled Shih Tzu, Gizzy. www.kimberlydana.com Lucy and CeCee's How To Survive (And Thrive) in Middle School
• Gitty Daneshvari is the author of the adult novel The Makedown. School of Fear was Gitty's debut children's book, and it was inspired by her many childhood fears. She hoped that one day they'd help her, and, as it turns out, they did. Gitty lives in New York with her two cats and her bulldog, Harriet. www.gittydaneshvari.com Monster High: Ghoulfriends Forever
• Loretta Ellsworth is the author of In a Heartbeat, The Shrouding Woman, and In Search of Mockingbird, which was a Midwest Bookseller's spring/summer pick and won the 2007 Midwest Bookseller's Choice Award Honor Book for Children's Literature. www.lorettaellsworth.com Unforgettable
• Marjorie Galen has written for Country Living and Martha Stewart Living and is the author of Summer Crafts: Summer Projects for the Whole Family. She lives in New York with her two children. www.majoriegalen.com The Fashion Designer's Handbook
• Kami Garcia lives in Los Angeles with her family. Beautiful Chaos is the third book in the Beautiful Creatures series. www.kamigarcia.com Beautiful Chaos
• Bethany Griffin has always admired Edgar Allan Poe's short stories. She is a high school English teacher who prides herself on attracting creative misfits to elective classes like Young Adult Literature, Creative Writing, and Speculative Literature. She lives with her family in Kentucky. www.bethanygriffin.com Masque of the Red Death 
• Jenny Han is the author of Shug, The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You, and We'll Always Have Summer. She is also the author of the chapter book Clara Lee and The Apple Pie Dream. A former children's bookseller, she earned her MFA in creative writing at the New School. She works as a YA librarian at a private school on the Upper West Side. www.dearjennyhan.com Burn For Burn
• A.J. Hartley is the bestselling author of mystery/thriller, fantasy, historical fiction, and young adult novels. He was born in northern England, but has lived in many places including Japan, and is currently the Robinson Professor of Shakespeare studies at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, where he specializes in the performance history, theory, and criticism of Renaissance English drama, and works as a director and dramaturg. www.ajhartley.net Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact
• Amanda Havard thinks in stories. She writes books and songs, tell stories to people over coffee or in elaborate iPad apps. Stories are her life. The Survivors: Point of Origin is her second novel, and is an amalgamation of all of her storytelling love combined. Originally from Dallas, TX, she now lives in Nashville, TN, a place where creativity drips from the sap of the trees, radiates from the attitude of the population, and seeps from the concrete. The inventor of the Immersedition interactive book app, Havard is always looking for the next best story - and the most innovative way to tell it. amandahavard.com The Survivors: Point of Origin                                           
• Karyn Henley is a best-selling children's book author and an Emmy Award-winning musician. She is the author of the original Beginner's Bible, which sold more than five million copies and was translated into more than fifteen languages, and Breath of Angel, the first novel in the Angelaeon Circle series. An accomplished songwriter, Karyn has been a Dove Award nominee and received a regional Emmy Award as music composer for a Christmas television special. She lives in Nashville. www.karynhenley.com Eye of the Sword 
• Jeff Hirsch graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with an MFA in Dramatic Writing, and is the author of The Eleventh Plague. He lives in Astoria, NY, with his wife. www.jeff-hirsch.com Magisterium                
• Silas House is the author of five novels: Clay's Quilt, A Parchment of Leaves, The Coal Tattoo, Eli the Good, Same Sun Here; three plays, The Hunting Part, Long Time Traveling, This is My Heart For You; and Something's Rising, co-authored with Jason Howard. He serves as the Director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College and on the fiction faculty at Spalding University's MFA in Creative Writing program. A former writer-in-residence at Lincoln Memorial University, House is the creator of the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival. silashouse.weebly.com Same Sun Here
• Jessica Khoury was born and raised in Georgia. She attended public school followed by homeschooling, and earned her bachelor's degree in English from Toccoa Falls College. Origin is her first novel. She lives with her husband, Benjamin, in Toccoa, GA. www.jessicakhoury.com Origin
• Sarah Maas is a New York native who currently lives in the California desert. This is her first novel, though she has a large on-line fan base who eagerly support her writing. www.sjmaas.livejournal.com Throne of Glass
• Meg Medina is the author of Tia Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Munoz. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, VA. www.megmedina.com The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind
• Katherine Paterson is a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Her international fame rests not only on her widely acclaimed novels but also on her efforts to promote literacy in the United States and abroad. She is a two-time winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award, and she has received many other accolades for her works, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, given by her home state of Vermont. She was also named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress in 2000. She lives in Barre, Vermont, with her husband, John. www.terabithia.com The Flint Heart
• John Paterson has collaborated with his wife, Katherine, on Consider the Lilies: Plants of the Bible; Images of God; and Blueberries for the Queen. He lives with his wife in Barre, Vermont. The Flint Heart
• Alice Randall was born in Detroit, grew up in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Harvard. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Wind Done Gone, Pushkin and the Queen of Spades, Rebel Yell, and Ada's Rules: A Sexy, Skinny Novel. She is also an award-winning songwriter, and the first black woman in history to write a number one country song. Randall lives with her husband in Nashville and is currently writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt University. www.alicerandall.com B.B. Bright, Possible Princess                                    
• CJ Redwine lives in Nashville with her four beautiful kids, an amazing husband, two fairly spastic cats, a dog, a writing career, and a bunch of really cool friends she doesn't get to see nearly as much as she'd like to. Defiance is her first novel. www.cjredwine.blogspot.com Defiance
• Ruta Sepetys was born and raised in Michigan in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. Between Shades of Gray is her first novel and was inspired by her family's history. "It's a story of extreme suffering, tremendous hope, and how sometimes love reveals the miraculous nature of the human spirit," says Sepetys. Ruta now lives with her family in Tennessee. www.rutasepetys.com Between Shades of Gray
• Donn Sierra lives in Columbia, TN and teaches government at McGavock High School in Nashville. A native of Miami, he graduated from Auburn University in 1986 and spent his first sixteen years in the classroom at Booker T. Washington High School in Miami. He and his wife, Lisa, a Gulf War veteran (USAF) and realtor, have raised five amazing children together. www.candinbooks.com Candin
• Roland Smith first worked with animals at the Portland Zoo, and he has been involved in animal rescues and conservation work around the world for more than twenty years. He is the author of Jack's Run, Zach's Lie, Cryptid Hunters, Peak, and most recently Tentacles. He is also the co-author of numerous picture books with his wife, Marie. Roland lives with Marie on a farm south of Portland, OR, and he enjoys writing, traveling, and visiting schools. www.rolandsmith.com The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers Book 4: Shatterproof
• Margaret Stohl lives in Los Angeles with her family. Beautiful Chaos is the third book in the Beautiful Creatures series. www.margaret-stohl.com Beautiful Chaos
• Catherynne M. Valente began September's adventures in installments on the Web; the project won legions of fans and also the CultureGeek Best Web Fiction of the Decade award. She lives with her husband off the coast of Maine. www.catherynnemvalente.com The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
• Judith Viorst was born and brought up in New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University, moved to Greenwich Village, and has lived in Washington, D.C., since 1960, when she married Milton Viorst, a political writer. They have three sons and seven grandchildren. Viorst writes in many different areas: science books, children's picture books, adult fiction and non-fiction, poetry for children and adults, and three musicals. She is best known for her beloved picture book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Lulu Walks the Dogs
• Siobhan Vivian's name is pronounced SHOVE-ON. She was born in NYC and grew up in Rutherford, NJ. She attended The University of the Arts, where she graduated with a degree in Writing for Film and Television. She received her MFA in Creative Writing: Children's Literature from The New School University. Siobhan has worked as an editor of several New York Times best-selling novels at Alloy Entertainment, a scriptwriter for The Disney Channel, and she currently teaches Writing Youth Literature at the University of Pittsburgh. www.siobhanvivian.com Burn For Burn
• Melissa Walker has worked as ELLEgirl Features Editor and Seventeen Prom Editor. She is the author of Small Town Sinners, the Violet on the Runway series, and Lovestruck Summer. Melissa manages the daily e-newsletter, iheartdaily.com and handles blogging for readergirlz.com. www.melissacwalker.com Unbreak My Heart 
• John Corey Whaley is an American Young Adult author from Louisiana. His first novel, Where Things Come Back is the winner of the 2012 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature and the 2012 William C. Morris Debut Fiction Award. He was recently selected by the National Book Foundation as a Top 5 Under 35 author, making him the first YA author to be awarded the honor. www.johncoreywhaley.com  Where Things Come Back
• Caroline Randall Williams is an award-winning published poet, currently pursuing her MFA at the University of Mississippi. Prior to matriculating at Ole Miss the 2010 Harvard graduate spent one year as a 1st grade teacher and another teaching 9th grade English. Williams is a third generation children's book writer. She is the great-granddaughter of Arna Bontemps who wrote several critically praised children's books including Popo and Fifina and The Fast Sooner Hound. Like her great-grandfather who co-wrote (often with Langston Hughes), Williams enjoys collaboration. Her debut novel, The Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess, is co-written with her mother. Williams first attended the southern festival of book as a three-year old. Interviewed by a reporter, she was quoted in the Tennessean as saying that she “likes to write". Twenty-two years later she's back to see what a new generation of young Southern Festival of Books readers makes of what she has written. The Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess
• Kathryn Williams is the author of the young adult novels The Debutante, The Lost Summer, and Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff that Made Me Famous, as well as the humor/advice book Roomies: Sharing Your Home with Friends, Strangers, and Total Freaks. She is a strong believer in the healing power of butter, bacon, and Southern rock, and she lives in Nashville. www.kathrynswilliams.com Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous
• Ed Young is the illustrator of more than 80 books for children, including the Caldecott Medal-winning Lon Po Po, the New York Times bestseller Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, and The House Baba Built. He lives in New York State. edyoungart.com Nighttime Ninja
• Kat Zhang is an avid traveler, and after a childhood spent living in one book after another, she now builds stories for other people to visit. An English major at Vanderbilt University, she spends her free time performing Spoken Word poetry, raiding local bookstores, and plotting where to travel next. katzhangwriter.com What's Left of Me

Youth Stage Schedule

Saturday, October 13
 9:00 BrainQuest Challenge
10:00 BrainQuest Physical Challenge
11:00 BrainQuest Challenge
12:00 Party for Olivia and The Fairy Princesses
 1:00 Jilli That's Silly, Mark Wayne Adams
 2:00 The Fasion Designer’s Handbook, Marjorie Galen
 3:00 Curious George's 71st Birthday party
 4:00 Tina Tickle-ini Gets Giggles & Goosebumples

Sunday, October 14
12:00 Conductor Jack & Coconuts the Kangaroo from the Zinghoppers
 1:00 BrainQuest Physical Challenge
 2:00 BrainQuest Challenge
 2:30 First Lady Crissy Haslam’s Read20 Family Book Club Event featuring A.J. Hartley, Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact
 3:00 The Ukedelics
 4:00 Clifford The Big Red Dog's 50th birthday party