ALA Annual, Anaheim! June 22-25

I'll be in Anaheim, CA for this year's ALA Annual Conference, June 22-25! I had a terrific time at last year's conference in New Orleans, and I'm looking forward to seeing my librarian friends again.

This year, I'll be attending as one of Scholastic's featured authors, which means that DRAMA galleys will be available in full force! You can find Scholastic at booth #2634...or, just look for their giant red display in the exhibit hall. It's usually pretty hard to miss. :-)

Here's my schedule of events:

FRIDAY, JUNE 22

6:00 - 6:30pm Iron Artist Tournament Graphic Novel Pavilion Stage

SATURDAY, JUNE 23

10:30 – 12:00pm Putting the Laughter in Literacy Panel Anaheim Convention Center, Ballroom A Come join best-selling authors Sarah Pennypacker, Raina Telgemeier and Alan Sitomer in a session devoted to illuminating the power of smiles, the tools of modern authors and the importance of books, reading and literacy.

12:00-1:00pm Graphic Novel Panel: What's New? Graphic Novel Pavilion Stage Raina Telgemeier, Derek Kirk Kim, Thien Pham, and Faith Erin Hicks will be talking about their new books. Moderated by Gene Luen Yang.

3:00-3:30pm Getting Graphic with Kids Graphic Novel Pavilion Stage Author/illustrators from the acclaimed EXPLORER: THE MYSTERY BOXES anthology discuss creating and writing graphic novels for children and young adults.

SUNDAY, JUNE 24

10:30-12:00pm Scholastic Literary Brunch (Invitation is required to attend)

1:00 - 2:00pm Scholastic Booth Signing Anaheim Convention Center – Booth #2634 Come get your galley of DRAMA signed!

3:00-4:00pm Comics Quickfire! Graphic Novel Pavilion Stage Part drawing jam, part fast-paced game show! Volunteers from the audience are paired off with (or against) professional cartoonists in a series of fun-filled drawing challenges! Featuring Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy), Raina Telgemeier (SMILE, DRAMA), Faith Erin Hicks (Friends With Boys) Jerzy Drozd (The Front), Dan Santat (Sidekicks), and more!

MONDAY, JUNE 25

10:30-11:00am Raina Telgemeier in Conversation with Snow Wildsmith Graphic Novel Pavillon Stage A one-on-one interview with Raina about her forthcoming graphic novel, DRAMA.

11:30-12:30pm Graphic Novel Open Forum Graphic Novel Pavillon Stage A unique opportunity to not only ask questions of graphic novel authors, but have them ask questions of you! Come and share anecdotes about how graphic novels have (or haven’t) worked in your library, what you’d like to see more of, and what kinds of books your patrons really respond to. The authors will also share stories about library visits and other cool stuff they do to get kids excited about reading. Featuring Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman, Jerzy Drozd, and Faith Erin Hicks.

*****

Whew! That's quite a lineup. I'll also be attending the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder Banquet, which will be your opportunity to see me wear a fancy dress.

During any and all downtime, you'll most likely be able to find me in the GRAPHIC NOVEL ARTIST ALLEY area of the exhibit hall, where I'll be sharing a table with my partner-in-crime-and-life, Dave Roman! We'll be set up at Table #473, where you can find our books, SMILE T-shirts, postcards, original artwork, bookmarks for our new kids' comics podcast, Kids' Comics Revolution (more about that soon!), and of course, information about our school and library visits. Please come visit us, we would love to see you!

Look for Dave's ASTONAUT ACADEMY banner (and, uh, us) to spot our table in Artist Alley!

Get your mouse ears ready...we'll see you in Anaheim!