2006 ALAN Workshop: "Young Adult Literature: Key to Open Minds"

ALAN Review, Summer 2006 by Tuccillo, Diane

Nashville, Tennessee, November 20 & 21, 2006, Monday, 8-5:30; Tuesday, 8-4

The 2006 ALAN Workshop, held as part of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual conference, will have the theme "Young Adult Literature: Key to Open Minds." You will want to stay for the entire two day program, as the concluding presentations on Tuesday will be as exciting and important as those taking place earlier! As part of your workshop registration, you will receive a year's membership or renewal to ALAN, plus a large cloth book bag filled with donated books from our generous participating publishers. You will also receive an invitation to the ALAN Reception-a delightful "wine and cheese" gathering-the Sunday evening before the workshop begins, also given by our wonderful publishers.

During the workshop presentations and breakout sessions, we'll be discovering ways to connect teens and reading though YA books, ways to expand horizons and experience new perspectives via YA literature, and ways to think about the issues of intellectual freedom in using, recommending, and providing YA literature in our work with teens. To get us started, our keynote speaker will be the inspiring and insightful editor of Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) magazine, Cathi Dunn MacRae.

You will be hearing from a wide array of YA authors who will speak out about their contributions to the literature, how they create it, and how they connect with teens through it. There will be many new and upcoming YA authors represented who are enriching and expanding the literature, as well as those who have already contributed many fine works that have become YA classics. With that in mind, here is a preview of the authors who will be in Nashville for individual talks, breakout sessions, and/or panel presentations:

Peter Abrahams

Courtesy of HarperCollins

Edward Bloor

Courtesy of Random House

Coe Booth

Courtesy of Scholastic

Michael Cart

Courtesy of Random House and HarperCollins

Cecil Castellucci

Courtesy of Candlewick

Judith Ortiz Cofer

Courtesy of Scholastic

Sneed Collard

Courtesy of Peachtree

Penny Coleman

Courtesy of Holt

Chris Crutcher

Courtesy of HarperCollins

Terry Davis

Author of Vision Quest, and more

Melissa de la Cruz

Courtesy of Hyperion

Matt de la Pena

Courtesy of Random House

Sarah Dessen

Courtesy of Penguin Putnam

Laura Malone Elliott

Courtesy of HarperCollins

Adrian Fogelin

Courtesy of Peachtree

Don Gallo

Courtesy of Candlewick

Nancy Garden

Courtesy of Harcourt

James Cross Giblin

Courtesy of Clarion

Gail Giles

Courtesy of Little, Brown

John Green

Courtesy of Penguin Putnam

Nikki Grimes

Courtesy of Hyperion

Elizabeth Hayden

Courtesy of TOR

Helen Hemphill

Author of Long Gone Daddy

Will Hobbs

Courtesy of HarperCollins

Pat Hughes

Courtesy of Random House

Paul Janeczko

Courtesy of Candlewick

Patrick Jones

Courtesy of Walker

J. James Keels

Author of "Ape," in Such a Pretty Face

Trudy Krisher

Courtesy of Holiday House

Greg Letich Smith

Courtesy of Little, Brown

Cynthia Letich Smith

Courtesy of HarperCollins

David Levithan

Courtesy of Random House

Robert Lipsyte

Courtesy of HarperCollins

Emily Lockhart

Courtesy of Random House

Janet McDonald

Courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Stephenie Meyer

Courtesy of Little, Brown

Lauren Myracle

Courtesy of Abrams

Deborah Noyes Wayshak

Courtesy of Candlewick

Julie Ann Peters

Courtesy of Little, Brown

Tamora Pierce

Courtesy of Random House

Marilyn Reynolds

Author of Love Rules, and more

John H. Ritter

Courtesy of Penguin Putnam

Gary Schmidt

Courtesy of Clarion

Ellen Schreiber

Courtesy of HarperCollins

Mark Siegel

Courtesy of Roaring Brook

Alan Sitomer

Courtesy of Hyperion

William Sleator

Courtesy of Abrams

Kirsten Smith

Courtesy of Little, Brown

Jordan Sonnenblick

Courtesy of Scholastic

Edward T. Sullivan

Courtesy of Holiday House

Susan Vaught

Courtesy of Bloomsbury

Paul Volponi

Courtesy of Penguin Putnam

Ellen Wittlinger

Courtesy of Abrams

Gene Yang

Courtesy of Roaring Brook

Jane Yolen

Courtesy of TOR

Timothy Zahn

Courtesy of TOR

Of course, you will also want to enjoy the fabulous ALAN Breakfast on Saturday morning, featuring guest speaker Naomi Shihab Nye (courtesy of HarperCollins).

Please join us in Nashville in November 2006! Information about registration, breakfast tickets, lodging, etc., is available through the NCTE web site at www.ncte.org. You are assured a fun and enlightening experience, as we explore Young Adult Literature: Key to Open Minds.