Childrens Book Festival, Keats Awards Ceremony, de Grummond 50th Celebration set for April 6-8

Devotees of children's literature from across the country and beyond will return to The University of Southern Mississippi April 6-8 for its annual Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival, which will mark its 49th year in 2016 as one of the most important events connected to the literary genre.

Each year, more than 400 teachers and librarians from across the nation come to Southern Miss for the Festival to hear major speakers and participate in concurrent sessions and workshops as authors, illustrators, and experts in the field share their knowledge and experience. Continuing education units (CEUs) are available to Mississippi educators.

This year's three-day event, held primarily in the Thad Cochran Center on the USM Hattiesburg campus, will include presentation of the festival's 2016 Southern Miss Medallion to author Jacqueline Woodson. Woodson's best-known works include Miracle's Boys and Brown Girl Dreaming, which earned the Coretta Scott King Award and Newberry Medal, respectively.

Woodson will serve as a keynote speaker for the Festival along with children's literature authors and illustrators Michael Cart, George O'Connor, Joyce Sidman, Melissa Sweet, Colleen Salley Storytelling Award winner Tim Tingle and Rita Williams-Garcia.

Other key features of this year's Festival include a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at Southern Miss, with 2003 Medallion winner Lois Lowry giving the de Grummond Lecture. The 100th birthday of famed American writer and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats (1916-1983) will also be recognized with a special Centennial Keats Lecture given by Deborah Pope at the Keats awards ceremony and luncheon April 7.

The Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival is presented by the USM College of Education and Psychology's School of Library and Information and Science. For more information about the Festival, including a complete schedule of events, visit https://www.usm.edu/childrens-book-festival.