A Smashing Success!
One for the books!
On April 13, 2024, in the historical borough of Haddonfield, New Jersey, one bookstore owner, one professor of creative writing, two children’s book authors, and one screenwriter (me) organized the first-ever South Jersey Children’s Book Festival to showcase the great variety of works for children by South Jersey and Philadelphia area authors and illustrators. The theme was CELEBRATING FREADOM!
15 awesome authors accepted the invitation to attend! Cece Bell, Liz Montague, Jamar
Nicholas, Donna Gephart, Amy Tan, Megan Atwood, I.W. Gregorio, Matt Phelan, and more are in our all-star literary lineup.
45 tireless volunteers from Rowan University, Haddonfield Memorial High School, Bellmar School, etc. generously donated their time and energy to make the event a reality.
Over 500 attendees came and celebrated!
The amazing CeCe Bell delivered the keynote speech and spoke about how her life has changed since winning Newbery Honor for EL DEAFO and what her experience was like having her work adapted to an animated original series! (Victoria Jamieson was in the audience! Happy surprise!)
Three illustrators gave drawing demonstrations. A room full of excited kids and grownups drew with them.
A panel of diverse authors discussed the effects of book banning on readers, authors, and society! They spoke passionately about why the freedom to read is so important to young people and how book banning has affected their personal lives and careers.
Megan Atwood, an associate professor in the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts (Edelman CCCA) and the author of nearly 70 books for young readers, said the festival was created to highlight and celebrate the awesome diversity of books for young people. “We talk about how reading can provide windows and mirrors. In mirrors, kids can see themselves in works of art as heroes. In windows, they can see how other people walk in the world.”
The festival emphasized the important and varied voices in children’s literature at a time when access to books in some parts of the U.S. has been challenged. In 2022 alone, the ALA reports, “Censors targeted a record 2,571 unique titles, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021.”
The authors advised that in addition to buying challenged books and attending book festivals, readers can help protect their access to books by participating in local government, attending school board and municipal meetings, and voting.
Michelle S. Lin 