PNLA Quarterly, Vol. 63 No.2 Winter 1999
Conference '99 Highlights
One of the highlights of any PNLA Conference is the YRCA banquet. No one knows who the winning authors will be ... but we're sure that one or both of them will be on hand in Calgary on August 13. 1999, to accept his or her award.Helen Hutchins, an award-winning children's author from Canmore, Alberta, will discuss the special value of both fantasy and family stories. Look for lots of smiles and a bit of juggling in this session, scheduled to follow the Youth Services Interest Group meeting. Sneed B. Collard III, a Montana author and biologist currently in Australia researching a new book, will discuss this project in the context of using science books to encourage reluctant readers.
A session on books for babies will highlight two successful Alberta programs, one in a city and one in rural Alberta in several communities under 9,500 population. Gail de Vos, a storyteller who also teachers at U of A's SLIS, will discuss graphic books for teens. Bringing these two age groups together and including the kids in between, will be Judith Saltman, author of The new Republic of Childhood: A Critical Guide to Canadian Children's Literature in English. Judith will talk about children's literature at the millennium.
Other Common Ground theme tracks at the PNLA Conference, August 11-13, 1999 in Calgary, are literacy, advocacy, intellectual freedom and management issues. Keynote speaker is Ben Wicks, an author an artist who is a patron of Laubach, Canada's largest literacy organization. With Laubach, Ben conceived a program which gave two million children copies of books that he created--Born to Read, Born to Read and Write, and Born to Read, Write and Count. Ben won the 1997 Children's Miracle Maker Award for this program. There will be sessions on literacy and school-aged children, and on readers theatre for adult literacy programs. Check the PNLA listserv and your state or provincial newsletter for details on other Common Ground themes.
Early bird registration, by June 25th, is $75 for PNLA members; $110 after that date. Non-members registration is $125 and $185. Registration fees are payable in the currency of your country of residence.
Plan now to be in Calgary, August 11-13, 1999, to celebrate PNLA's 90 years, network with your colleagues from all over the Pacific Northwest and enjoy Alberta. Yahoo!