Keynote Speakers

Keynote: Lee Bennett Hopkins
Q/A session to follow Keynote Presentation

Lee Bennett Hopkins is a prolific writer of books for adults and children.  He is one of the leading writers and anthologists of poetry. He is the namesake and founder of Lee Bennett Hopkins / Penn State University Award for Children’s Poetry, and Lee Bennett Hopkins / International Reading Association Promising New Poet Award. He has won numerous awards and honors for his writing including the 2009 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) “Excellence in Poetry for Children,” the 1995 Christopher Award, and the 1996 Golden Kite Honor Book Award for his autobiographical poetry collection Been to Yesterdays.  Recent works include I Am the Book, Sharing the Seasons, Amazing Faces, City I Love, and Incredible Inventions.
Visit http://www.leebennetthopkins.com/

Keynote: Patricia MacLachlan

Patricia MacLachlan is the author of many well-loved novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal; its sequels, Skylark and Caleb’s Story; Edward’s Eyes; The True Gift; Waiting for the Magic; White Fur Flying; and Your Moon, My Moon, illustrated by Bryan Collier. She lives in western Massachusetts.
Visit: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Patricia-MacLachlan/38022587

Keynote: Stephen Alcorn

While born in the U.S., Stephen Alcorn spent his formative years in Florence, Italy. It was there that he attended the Istituto Statale d’Arte, an experience that left an indelible impression upon him, infusing his work with a passion for bold technical experimentation in a wide range of mediums. It was there that he also met his future wife, Sabina Fascione, a native of Pisa, Italy.Since 1986 Stephen, Sabina, and their two daughters, have lived and worked in the village of Cambridge, in upstate New York. Working in a variety of disparate, yet mutually complementary styles and techniques, Stephen and Sabina work side by side in a multi-faceted, 19th century carriage house, where they incorporate a unique blend of studio related activities and rotating exhibitions of their work.The Alcorn Studio & Gallery has been the focus of numerous feature articles appearing in such prestrigious magazine as Print, Graphis, U&LC, Linea Grafica, Prometeo, and Abitare. Alcorn is the illustrator of numerous children’s books including America At War / A Poetry Anthology; Poems Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins; McElderry Books My America; Lee Bennett Hopkins, anthologist; Simon & Schuster, Days To Celebrate / An Almanac of People, Events, and Poetry; selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins; Greenwillow Books, and Mary’s Song by Lee Bennett Hopkins; Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.
Visit: http://www.alcorngallery.com/