Call for Proposals

The Festival's mission is to carry on Charlotte Huck’s life work of bringing children and books together to develop readers who will find a lifetime of pleasure in reading good books. Focusing on children's literature for grades K-8, the Literature Festival features small group presentations by educators, librarians, authors, illustrators, editors, and scholars. There are sessions geared to the interests of primary grades, middle grades, librarians, parents, and aspiring writers.

We are looking for overviews of classroom activities such as an author, illustrator, or genre study; new books; family literacy programs; multicultural literature; library programs for babies through middle school; historical perspectives on children's literature; current trends, writing for children, social issues and children’s literature and more.

Proposals are due by Friday, October 13, 2023.

Need an idea? For topics requested by past attendees, see below.

Suggestions for BREAKOUT SESSION TOPICS

Writing with children; the writing process
How to collaborate (public librarians, school librarians and teachers)
Librarian networking
Storytelling in classrooms and libraries
Picture books for upper elementary
Chapter books for upper elementary
Books to stimulate middle school students to fall in love with reading
Diversity, multicultural literature, differently-abled in literature
Recognizing quality multicultural books and integrating those books into classroom curriculum
Women in literature and picture books
Middle school ideas for literature circles
Literature circle novel for struggling readers
Poetry relating to real-life struggles students may face
Ways to include poetry in the school setting
Getting children interested in poetry
Preschool books
Nonfiction offerings
Cross over fiction/nonfiction
Literature kids will love and will inspire them
Writing in response to literature
Historical perspectives
Useful and practical activities for the classroom, library, and home
Using mentor texts in teaching informational writing
Best new books of the past year
Recommended award-winning books
Using literature to help struggling writers
Writing for the international market
Sessions by editors and art directors
Read alouds for all ages
Drawing students into the story
Books for EL students
Using quality literature in the classroom
Paired fiction and non-fiction
Getting parents involved in literacy activities
Integrating content areas and literature
Integrating literature with the visual and/or performing arts
Nuts and bolts of writing and publishing
Traditional tales
Graphic novels
Middle grades
YA
Chapter books