| Program 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM ET | Visit the Exhibit Hall 10:30AM - 11:00AM ET | In Conversation: Megan Madison & Jessica Ralli, co-authors of Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race
Listen in as Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli, co-authors and experts in the fields of early childhood and activism against injustice, discuss their first book in a new topic-driven board book series offering clear, concrete language that young children can grasp and adults can use to begin important conversations in an informed, safe, and supported way.
Introduced by: Sarah Bayliss, News & Features Editor, SLJ TWO CONCURRENT PANELS 11:05AM - 11:55AM ET | Illuminating Book Club Picks
Novels and memoirs offer stories to sustain conversation.
The Ugly Cry by Danielle Henderson, a memoir optioned by Annapurna Pictures with Paul Feig to direct (Viking)
Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez, a coming-of-age debut that grapples with race, class, and identity (Doubleday)
Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen, a debut novelist with one of the most anticipated books of the year (Knopf)
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, a memoir that builds on her viral 2018 New Yorker essay of the same title (Knopf)
Moderator: Migdalia Jimenez, Adult Services Librarian, Chicago Public Library (IL) 11:05AM - 11:55AM ET | Making a Difference: Picture Books
These four picture books feature inspiring stories celebrating community, giving back, and achieving one’s goals.
The Cot in the Living Room by Hilda Eunice Burgos, a Dominican American girl’s journey from jealousy to empathy as her parents babysit children whose families work overnight shifts (Kokila)
My Two Border Towns by David Bowles, the loving story of a father and son’s weekend ritual, a demonstration of community care, and a tribute to the fluidity, complexity, and vibrancy of life on the U.S.-Mexico border (Kokila)
Areli Is a Dreamer: A True Story by Areli Morales, a DACA Recipient, a debut children’s book where hope prevails (Random House Studio)
Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress by Alicia D. Williams, a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Author Award winning author (Anne Schwartz Books)
Moderator: Melanie Kletter, School Library Journal Reviewer 12:00PM - 12:50PM ET | Real-Life Narratives
Follow WWII soldiers, explorers, and a 63-year-old equestrian on the ride of her life.
Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II by Daniel James Brown, the bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat (Viking)
The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History by Margalit Fox, winner of the William Saroyan Prize for Literature and author of three previous books, Conan Doyle for the Defense, The Riddle of the Labyrinth, and Talking Hands (Random House)
The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts, bestselling author of The Eighty-Dollar Champion and Finding Dorothy (Ballantine Books)
Every Day the River Changes: Four Weeks Down the Magdalena by Jordan Salama, a writer who travels from the source of the Río Magdalena in the Andes to where it meets the Caribbean sea (Catapult)
Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton, a senior features editor at Departures magazine, who gained the first official access to the expedition’s logbook (Crown)
Moderator: Jesse Sanders, Cuyahoga County Public Library (OH) 12:50PM - 1:30PM ET | Break / Visit the Exhibit Hall 1:30PM - 2:00PM ET | Andy Weir in Conversation
Bestselling novelist Andy Weir discusses his upcoming novel, Project Hail Mary (Ballantine Books), a survival tale about a lone astronaut fated to save the Earth.
Introduced by: Barbara Williams, AeroAstro and Physics Librarian, MIT Libraries (MA) TWO CONCURRENT PANELS 2:05PM - 2:55PM ET | Genre-Busting Thrillers
Meet the authors blowing the doors off the thriller genre.
Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia, a debut novelist who takes readers back to 1920s Harlem (Berkley)
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the bestselling author of Mexican Gothic who now turns her brilliant talents from speculative fiction to noir. (Del Rey)
Dead of Winter by Stephen Mack Jones, his third “August Snow” novel (Soho Crime)
Bath Haus by P. J. Vernon, his second novel after his splashy debut, When You Find Me (Doubleday)
Moderator: Ashley Rayner, Branch Manager, Chicago Public Library (IL) 2:05PM - 2:55PM ET | Finding Your Truth: YA
These novels explore the complexities of friendships, identity, and love.
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons, a feel-good contemporary young adult romance about a trans teen who must decide between standing up for his rights and staying stealth (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Switch by A.S. King, a surreal and timely novel about isolation and human connection from Michael L. Printz Award winner (Dutton Books for Young Readers)
Chlorine Sky by Mahogany L. Browne, a novel-in-verse about a young girl coming-of-age and stepping out of the shadow of her former best friend. (Crown BFYR)
Moderator: Desiree Thomas, Librarian, Worthington Library (OH) 2:55PM - 3:30PM ET | Break / Visit the Exhibit Hall 3:30PM - 4:20PM ET | Big Summer Reads
Two debut authors and three fan favorites shine with must-have beach reads. These are the books your patrons will be asking about and lining up to check out.
The Personal Librarian by best-selling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, an NAACP Image Award winner (Berkley)
Songs in Ursa Major by buzzy debut author and publishing insider Emma Brodie (Knopf)
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, another debut author and Hollywood insider (The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and The Wire) (Riverhead)
Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger, best-selling author of The Devil Wears Prada and When Life Gives You Lululemons (Random House)
Moderator: Wendy Bartlett, Collection Development and Acquisitions Manager, Cuyahoga County Public Library (OH)
4:30PM - 5:00PM ET | TBD | 