ALSC and the 2018 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Committee are proud to announce the opening of the application to host the 2018 event featuring award-winning poet, editor, and children’s book author Naomi Shihab Nye.
The Arbuthnot Lecture is an annual event at which an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature presents a paper that makes a significant contribution to the field. A library school, department of education in a college or university or a children’s library system may be considered to host. The lecture is administered by ALSC.
Apply Today!
Applications are due Monday, May 15, 2017. Information about host site responsibilities is included in the application materials. The lecture traditionally is held in April or early May.
During the ALA 2017 Midwinter Meeting in Atlanta, Naomi Shihab Nye was selected by the Arbuthnot Lecture Committee to speak in 2018. “A wise and lyrical observer, Naomi Shihab Nye consistently draws on her heritage and writing to attest to our shared humanity,” stated 2018 Arbuthnot Committee Chair Elizabeth Ramsey Bird.
About Naomi Shihab Nye
The daughter of a Palestinian father and an American mother, Naomi Shihab Nye grew up in St. Louis, Missouri; Jerusalem; and San Antonio, Texas. She is the author and/or editor of more than 30 books for adults and children. Her latest for young people, “The Turtle of Oman,” was chosen as a 2015 Notable Children’s Book by the ALA. She has received four Pushcart Prizes, was a National Book Award finalist, and has been named a Guggenheim Fellow, amongst her many honors.
About the Lecture
ALSC established this lecture series in 1969, with sponsorship from Scott, Foresman and Company (now Pearson Scott Foresman) in honor of author May Hill Arbuthnot. The lectureship, now funded by the ALSC May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Endowment, has the distinction of featuring many notable authors, critics, librarians, historians, and teachers of children’s literature from various countries. Past lecturers over the decades have included Mary Ørvig, Leland B. Jacobs, Virginia Hamilton, Maurice Sendak, and Richard Jackson.
Jacqueline Woodson delivered the 2017 Arbuthnot Honor Lecture yesterday (April 1, 2017) in Columbia, South Carolina. The full lecture will be available on the ALSC website soon!
Access the Arbuthnot Host Application.