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Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival

Celebrating excellence in children’s and young adult literature

2026 Save the date

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The 2026 Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival will take place April 8-10 on campus at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. We’re thrilled to announce that Meg Medina is the 2026 Southern Miss Medallion winner. Medina is a New York Times best-selling author who writes book for all sorts of young people – from picture books, to middle grade readers, and all the way up to young adult fiction. Her work is emotionally rich and beautifully written, but her legacy goes beyond the books she’s authored. Medina has worked on various community-building projects that support young women, Latino youth, and/or literacy. From 2023-2024, Medina served as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, promoting literature and literacy to millions of young people nationwide.

Other 2026 Keynotes include Coleen Salley Storytelling Lecturer Molly Idle, Ben Clanton, Molly Knox Ostertag, and SLIS Lecturer Amanda Jones!

 

 

Contact Us

Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival

Southern Miss SLIS
118 College Dr. #5146
Hattiesburg, MS 39406

Hattiesburg Campus

Campus Map

Email
stacy.creelFREEMississippi

Phone
601.266.4228

 

The Festival began in 1968.

 

Over 300 teachers and librarians attend each year.

 

CEUs are available to Mississippi educators.