Tayshas: Hot High School Authors
10:15 - 11:50 AM
Authors featured on Tayshas reading lists chat informally about writing for an older YA audience. Presenters answer audience questions about characters, style, difficult issues, and the writing process.
John Green, author, Penguin Young Readers; Lisa Klein, author, Bloomsbury & Walker; Melissa Marr, author, HarperCollins Children’s Books; Sara Zarr, author, Little Brown Young Readers.
Engaging YAs with Latino Short Fiction & Poetry
12:00 - 12:50 PM
Engage your teens with culturally-relevant and contemporary short stories and poetry by up-and-coming Latino authors, who will share passages from their work. Our two authors discuss how they draw YA readers by illuminating the diverse circumstances, immigration experiences, and issues faced by Latinos.
Javier O. Huerta, author, and John Pluecker, Arte Público Press. (We regret that author Lisa Hernandez is unable to attend TLA. John Pluecker will fill in on her behalf.)
Tim Green on Sports and Getting Boys to Read
12:00 - 12:50 PM
Are you ready for some football – literature, that is? Huddle up with former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Tim Green as he discusses writing for boys with sports as the platform. It’s football season year-round in Texas and with Tim.
Tim Green, author, HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Up Close and Personal with Walter Dean Myers
12:00 - 12:50 PM
Walter Dean Myers believes that his stories are an extension of his life. Through numerous award-winning novels, such as Monster, Slam, and his most recent Sunrise over Fallujah, Myers writes for children and young adults with an honesty and compassion as he explores every facet of life and shows us different ways to express the human experience.
Walter Dean Myers, author, Scholastic Inc.
Celebrate 20 Years of the Lone Star Reading List
2:00 - 3:50 PM
Look back at the last two decades of middle school and YA literature. Two authors, editor, publisher, and Lone Star committee member share their experiences and insights on this influential reading list.
Susan Allison, assistant director, Richardson Public Library; Joan Bauer, author, Penguin Young Readers Group; Tracy Lerner, library marketing manager, Random House Children’s Books; Sharyn November, senior editor, Viking Children’s Books; and Neal Shusterman, author, Penguin Young Readers Group.
