ALAN Volume 31, Number 3 - ALAN Workshop Preview

The ALAN Preview Fall 2004 Workshop:

The Art of Young Adult Literature

T he fall 2004 ALAN Workshop is scheduled for Nov. 22 and 23 in Indianapolis, Ind., and the lineup is filled with well-known authors, publishers, and experts in the field of young adult literature. The activities actually kick off with the annual breakfast featuring author E.L. Konigsburg on Saturday, Nov. 20.

But, before you head to Indianapolis, we’ve provided this workshop preview to give you a sampling of what to expect. Then get your suitcase out and start packing. —JB & LG

The Art of Young Adult Literature: A Welcome from ALAN President, Michael Cart

Welcome to the 2004 ALAN Workshop. The theme I’ve selected—“The Art of Young Adult Literature”— reflects my long-held belief that YA has come of age and that if the term “Young Adult Literature” might once have been regarded as an oxymoron (like “jumbo shrimp” and “military intelligence”), that surely is no longer the case. For the genre is now arguably the liveliest in publishing, enriched and informed by so many dynamic trends, artistic innovations, and examples of creative risk-taking that I do not hesitate to call this a new “Golden Age” of young adult literature.

I hope you’ll find proof of this extravagant claim in the workshop that has been assembled for you. More than fifty authors, editors, and experts in the field will participate in an extraordinarily content-rich conference, the tone of which will be set by keynote speaker Stephen Roxburgh, the distinguished publisher of Front Street Books and staunch advocate of literary fiction. Other speakers include the likes of Printz Award-winner An Na, Printz Honor Award recipients Jennifer Donnelley, Garret Freymann-Weyr, Helen Frost, Jan Greenberg, Terry Trueman, and Ellen Wittlinger; National Book Award-winner Han Nolan, Newbery Medalist Christopher Paul Curtis, 2004 ALAN Award recipient Jacqueline Woodson, two-time Eisner Award-winner Eric Shanower, and many, many more. They will address an array of topics that range from “The Art of Story” to “Discovering Sexual Identity in Literature,” from “The Art of the Graphic Novel” to “The Art of Poetry” and from “The Art of the Short Story” to “The Art of the Novel.” Indeed, virtually every aspect of the now artful and newly expansive field of young adult literature will be addressed.

As a result, the conference is, admittedly, an ambitious one and one that is very, very tightly scheduled. It will invite your patience and occasional indulgence with the briskness of its pace and the—well, ampleness of its content. To accommodate that, please note that we will be starting at 8:00 both Monday and Tuesday mornings.

If it all seems, from time to time, a bit overwhelming, it will, I promise you, never be dull. And it will also be a continuous exercise in intellectual excitement and personal and professional growth.

I look forward to sharing this excitement and to greeting each of you in Indianapolis!

Michael Cart, ALAN President

2004 ALAN WORKSHOP (TENTATIVE) SCHEDULE

Monday, 11/22/04:

8:00-8:10: Welcome and a Few Words about ALAN
Michael Cart, ALAN President

8:10-8:20: A Few Words about the ALAN Review
James Blasingame and Lori Goodson, Co-Editors

8:20-8:50: KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Stephen Roxburgh, Publisher, Front Street

8:50-9:40: THE ART OF FICTION. I
Carolyn Coman
Garret Freymann-Weyr
An Na
Han Nolan
Ellen Wittlinger

9:40-10:20: THE ART OF FANTASY
L.G. Bass
Steven Gould
Edith Pattou
E. Rose Sabin

10:20-10:35: COFFEE BREAK

10:35-11:00: ADULT AUTHORS FOR YOUNG ADULTS. I
Clive Barker

11:00-11:40: ART IN LITERATURE
Jan Greenberg
Kathe Koja
Tracy Mack

11:40-12:00: THE ART OF POETRY
Paul B. Janeczko

12:00-1:00: LUNCH

1:00-1:40: THE ART OF THE NOVEL IN VERSE
Helen Frost
Paul B. Janeczko
Sonya Sones

1:40-2:30: THE ART OF FICTION. II. New Narrative Strategies
Terry Davis
Jaclyn Moriarty
Lauren Myracle
Terry Trueman
Hilary Frank

2:30-2:50: COFFEE BREAK

2:50-3:40: BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Steven T. Beckmore: YA Literature and the Pre–
Service Teacher
Jim Blasingame: The Art of Humor in YA Books
Lois Buckman: Beyond Prose
Lisa A. Hazlett: Examining Artistry in YA
Literature
Ted Hipple: How Do We Evaluate Young Adult
Novels
Teri Lesesne: Art and YA Literature
Walter Mayes: The Best New YA Books
John Noell Moore
M. Jerry Weiss: All the World’s a Stage—or Is It?

3:40-4:20: THE ART OF THE SHORT STORY
Sharon Flake
Marilyn Singer
Ellen Wittlinger

4:20-5:00: THE ART OF MIDDLE SCHOOL LITERATURE
David Lubar
Gerald Morris
Rod Philbrick
Sarah Weeks

Tuesday, 11/23/04:

8:00-8:40: ARTFUL NEW YA IMPRINTS
Patty Campbell. Moderator
Eden Edwards (Graphia)
David Levithan (PUSH)
Sharon November (Firebird)
Susan Van Metre (Amulet)

8:40-9:05: THE ART OF THE GRAPHIC NOVEL
Eric Shanower

9:05-9:55: THE ART OF TEACHING YA WRITING
Ann Angel
M.T. Anderson
An Na
Anita Riggio
Jackie Woodson

9:55-10:10: COFFEE BREAK

10:10-10:50: THE ART OF HISTORICAL FICTION
Julie Chibbaro
Jennifer Donnelley
Kelly Easton
Trudy Krisher

10:50-11:15: ADULT AUTHORS FOR YOUNG ADULTS. II
Joyce Maynard

11:15-11:55: THE ART OF GENRE FICTION
Carl Deuker
Lynne Ewing
William Sleator

11:55-1:05: LUNCH

1:05-1:30: THE ART OF HUMOR AND HEART
Christopher Paul Curtis

1:30-2:10: FINDING SEXUAL IDENTITY IN YA FICTION
Brent Hartinger
David Levithan
Jackie Woodson
Sharon Dennis Wyeth

2:10-2:30: COFFEE BREAK

2:30-3:20: BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Pamela Sissi Carroll: The Art and Science of
Young Adult Literature
Kristin Fletcher-Spear: Graphic Reads
Wendy Glenn: Hole in My Life (and Theirs) Lori & Todd Goodson: The Art of Performance
Patrick Jones: A Core Collection for Young Adults
Jeff Kaplan: Looking on the Inside
Joan Kaywell & Neil Shusterman: What Daddy
Did—What Teachers Do
Lois Stover: The Art of Jacqueline Woodson
Alan B. Teasley: Out of the Closet and Onto the
Shelves!

3:20-3:55 Panel: HEARING NEW VOICES
Mark Delaney
Brian James
Patrick Jones
Ned Vizzini

3:55-4:00: Patty Campbell, A Preview of ALAN 2005 & Farewell