There’s a running joke in the University of Georgia’s Department of Language and Literacy Education.
“Two very important things happened in 1969,” says clinical professor Petros Panaou with a grin. “We landed on the moon, and the Georgia Conference on Children’s Literature was born.”
An exaggerated comparison, maybe, but it’s hard to dismiss the impact of one of the longest-running literature conferences in the country. It’s an event where writers, illustrators, and educators meet each year to chart the future of children’s literature.
Monica Arnaldo won a Georgia Children’s Book Award for Mr. S, which she wrote and illustrated. She couldn’t attend the conference in person but thanked the room virtually. (Photo by Peter Frey/UGA)
Children’s Book Awards
The conference was created to celebrate the authors who won the Georgia Children’s Book Awards. The awards were established by Shelton Root, a former professor in UGA’s College of Education, who wanted to build a community of readers and informed citizens.
Mary Frances Early College of Education faculty members Sara Kajder and Jennifer Graff are at the frontlines of building connections. Graff was a committee chair from 2010 through 2021, and Kajder has been a committee chair since 2015. They talk to teachers and librarians, reach out to homeschool communities, and engage with students across Georgia to ensure the whole state is represented in committee membership and book selection.
“It’s a testimony to the adults and educators who understand that great writing and reading are important for the kids. Just as impressive, the kids know these books are critical for their future as engaged citizens and creative thinkers,” Graff says.
The awards attract people from every facet of children’s literature—teachers, media specialists, librarians, graduate students, authors, illustrators, and, most importantly, children.
Kids vote on the winning books: one for picture books and one for older readers. Every title that ends up on the finalist list is voted on by thousands of young readers. One year, as many as 51,000 students across Georgia voted in the competition.
But before the voting starts, each book award committee narrows down a massive list of nominations submitted by publishers, educators, and students. Each committee shares the shortened list with schools and libraries across the state. Then, the lists are shared with children and families to read and vote on before the winners are announced at the conference. This year, the winners were Mr. S by Monica Arnaldo and Hands by Torrey Maldonado, respectively.
Breakout sessions included presentations from guests like Jennifer Allen and Bethany Scullin from the University of West Georgia. They discussed how picture books can be used to teach children critical media literacy skills. (Photo by Peter Frey/UGA)
Nancy Heiss, a graduate assistant for the book awards, says the process empowers young readers. She encourages all children, including her own, to vote.
“I think it’s important for kids to know that their voices are being heard,” Heiss says. “Instead of adults dictating what they can read, it’s their chance to connect to the books they love and share with their peers.”
Georgia Conference on Children’s Literature
Once the winners are selected, it’s showtime.
Panaou, who has served as the conference chair for the past eight years, says each event is designed by and for the participants. Librarians discuss programs to engage children. Educators deliver presentations about incorporating literature in the classroom. Authors and illustrators share techniques with fellow artists.
Topics range from grammar to gamification, but the momentum doesn’t stop when speakers leave the stage. Participants mingle with their favorite authors after events, and educators inform publishers about how to get a book into children’s hands.
“The most interesting conversations happen in the hallways or at lunch, usually with UGA’s famous strawberry ice cream pie,” Panaou says. “That’s what makes it special. People meet their heroes here and get to talk to them like human beings.”
The conference celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019, attracting the highest attendance to date. Newbery Award-winning author and poet Kwame Alexander gave the keynote address. Athens-area students even read his books as part of a book club.
“When they finally met him at the conference, they treated him like a superstar—like we’d expect for a football player or a rock musician,” Panaou says. “The whole experience left a lasting impression on me. It’s a memory I’ll never forget, and neither will they.”
This adoration between children and authors hasn’t changed over the decades. Dozens of children sent letters to Doris Buchanan Smith after she won the Georgia Children’s Book Award in 1975.
Children’s Literature Conference on Display
The exhibition room changes every year to keep up with the needs of new and evolving young readers. One year, the room hosted an international silent book exhibition with wordless picture books. Another year, the exhibition Outstanding
The Comics Appreciation Project presented this year’s special exhibition. Members of the project curated graphic novels with powerful narratives and educational resources and programs for storytelling. (Photo by Peter Frey/UGA)
International Books for Youth with Disabilities featured books for visually impaired children and books for and about children with autism. These books were tactile and creative and previously unknown to many readers.
“We want to let every child know that there is a book for them and that their story is important,” says Heiss. “Literature is a way to witness each other, and I think it’s beautiful.”
This year’s exhibition, organized by the Comics Appreciation Project, celebrated the power of graphic novels. While classic superhero comics will always be cherished, the Comics Appreciated Project highlighted the many profound themes that modern graphic novels explore. From the Civil Rights Movement to war-torn fantasy narratives, these stories go beyond entertainment to explore complex emotions and challenges in a way only graphic novels can.
“One of the most important parts of this literature conference is showing educators what resources are out there,” says Panaou. The more educators know about different types of children’s books, the more they can incorporate them into the reading spaces of children who need them.
The Bigger Picture (Book)
As much as the conference is meant to inspire knowledge and engagement in children, it’s clear that adults also reap benefits from this community.
One of 2025’s keynote speakers, historical children’s book author Jessica Kasper Kramer, kicked off her presentation with the story of meeting her literary idol, Andre Norton, as a child.
Norton, a prolific science fiction writer, held a book signing, and Kramer was the only child at the event. She remembers Norton pulling her to the front of the line, talking to her for longer than anyone else, and answering her questions as seriously as if she were the world’s leading literary critic. That moment left a lasting impact on Kramer.
“I believe stories can save us,” she said in her speech.
Kramer, like her fellow literature conference attendees, believes in the transformative power of literature to help young readers shape their world in new and profound ways.
Harold with his purple crayon. Ada Twist with her curious questions. Matilda with her magic powers. Children’s books are often the settings of our first heroes and inspirations. At the Georgia Conference on Children’s Literature, magic meets the everyday in a story that never ends.
The Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel hosts the conference every year. It draws hundreds of teachers, librarians, media specialists, authors, illustrators, and scholars from the university and across the state. (Photo by Peter Frey/UGA)
Special thanks to Amy Pulliam and Jie Zhang for research and reporting.
