If you are planning to attend the 2022 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., please pack your party hat! The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has been celebrating 100 years of the (John) Newbery Award this past year via online webinars and an online symposium. Those of us headed to Washington, D.C. for ALA’s Annual Conference can now look forward to in-person celebrations at the Newbery Caldecott Legacy Banquet and at the Newbery 100! Celebration, which will be held at the Marriott Marquis (Independence Salons E F G H) on Saturday, June 25, from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Saturday’s birthday party for the Newbery promises a range of activities, a chance to learn and to laugh with ALSC members and friends. ALSC invites you to learn more about the Newbery Award’s history from
preeminent children’s literature historian Leonard Marcus, to preview the Newbery 100 Tribute Video created by Nick Glass of Teachingbooks.net, and to enjoy an in-person game of Author/Librarian-Fan Face-Off, featuring Newbery Medal and Honor-winning authors competing against librarians, hosted by Steve Sheinkin and Stacey Rattner and modeled after their popular YouTube series “Author Fan Face-Off.” This will be a fun game to determine who knows a particular Newbery-winning title best: the author or the librarian!
Sponsoring publishers will be present, many with authors who will sign books following the program. Newbery winners who are signed up to participate in the game include:
- Kwame Alexander
- Jerry Craft
- Rajani LaRocca
- Kyle Lukoff
- Meg Medina
- Linda Sue Park
- Margi Preus
- Christina Soontornvat
Other Newbery winners will be in the room to cheer them on. They’ll be facing off against fan librarians:
- Cicely Lewis
- Erika Long
- Maegen Rose
- Kim Grad
- Claudette McLinn
- Junko Yokota
- Betsy Bird
- John Schu
Refreshments will be served. Doors will open at 4:15. Space is limited. We hope to see you there! #Newbery100
Today’s post was written by Susan Polos, middle school librarian at Greenwich Country Day School in Connecticut and chair of the (John) Newbery 100th Anniversary Celebration Task Force.