Amy Costales
Author Amy Costales will explain the  selection of children's literature to promote self-esteem and tolerance in a multicultural world and how students make an emotional connection with literature.
www.amycostales.com/ |
Dale E. Basye
Join author Dale E. Basye as he shares the  journey of his popular book for middle readers, Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go. He'll take you from the cradle to the grave and beyond; from his pitch, to publication, to promotion and discuss how to sustain a series.
www.wherethebadkidsgo.com |
Derek Kim
Derek Kirk Kim is the Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz Award-winning cartoonist with over a decade of experience in the comics  industry. He lives and works in Portland, Oregon, but spent most of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area.
His debut graphic novel, Same Difference and Other Stories, published by Top Shelf Productions in 2004, won all three industry awards including the Eisner, and garnered rave reviews from NPR, Publishers Weekly, TIME, The Village Voice, The Comics Journal, Ain’t It Cool,and many others. Publishers Weekly also named it one of the Best Books of 2003.
His second graphic novel, Good As Lily, with artist Jesse Hamm, also made many Best-of-2007 lists including YALSA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens. It drew praise from many disparate corners, from the San Francisco Chronicle to Boing Boing.
His latest graphic novel, The Eternal Smile, with writer and Printz Award winner Gene Luen Yang, will be released in the Spring of 2009. It is Yang's follow-up to his National Book Award nominated graphic novel, American Born Chinese.
Kim has also produced numerous short stories for various publications such as his self-published comic book series, Lowbright. Along the way, he has worked for many of the top publishers in the industry including First Second Books, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Nickelodeon Magazine, Villard Books, Top Shelf Productions, Penguin Books, Image Comics, and Alternative Comics.
More information, please visit www.lowbright.com.
|
Anne Osterlund
 Meet the suspects: those headstrong heroines, rebelious heroes, dastardly villains and charming traitors that keep you up late at night.Come play Live Clue, discuss your favorite characters, and chat with an author about the shocks, joys, and pitfalls of knowing those characters.
www.anneosterlund.com
|
April Henry
 Hear how a respectable woman learned how to kill and steal for fun and profit. Learn about her four-year "overnight" success, how "what ifs" make a great jumping off point, researching guide dogs by harnessing and walking one (while blindfolded), and what makes fiction better than real life.
http://www.aprilhenrymysteries.com/
|
Scientific literacy is down and the complexity of modern science is up. The graphic novel format grabs readers and enhances higher level understanding of difficult concepts. 
Military families are currently under unprecedented stress, and schools and libraries are well equipped to offer support. Rosanne will address simple ways to support the student of a deployed soldier. She will introduce current middle grade and young adult novels that address the war in Iraq and the military family experience. 
Every author finds ways to negotiate the uneasy path between bright delight and enveloping gloom as the book moves through its stages toward completion. Virginia will discuss some of the ways toward she's found, including the versatile index card and its vast potential.