Children's Lit Ideal 2012 Conference/Convention Tour, reprint, excerpt

If I Were a Rich Girl: The Children’s Literary Conference and Convention Tour

January 3rd, 2012
by Elizabeth Bird

... I am going to go to every single cool children’s book related conference I know of. Yep. That’s my crazy dream. So let’s see if we can drum up a roster of where one would go if, in fact, they could go wherever they liked.

1. SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Conferences (January 27-29th & August 3-6th) –...I’d make sure to go to the two big national ones (one is held in L.A. and the other in New York City).... More info here
2. Kidlitcon (November) – The children’s and YA book bloggers meet each and every year somewhere in the country for a big beautiful conference....
3. The London Book Fair (April 16-18th) – Book fairs abound and not all have much to offer on the children’s literary side, but if I had to choose one I think I’d go with this one. For one thing, it’s in London. Fabulous.... More info here.
4. IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) World Congress – London (August 23-26th) – More info here.
5. The Bologna Children’s Book Fair (March 19-22nd) – Portugal will be the guest of honor country this year.... And as I stated in my SLJ article back in July, there’s a ton to do at the fair for everyone. You needn’t be an editor or publisher to have a good time. More info here.
6. Book Expo (June 5-7th) - ... In New York.Ostensibly meant for the bookseller community, it’s plenty informative if you’re a librarian too. And there are a lot more free books on hand than you’ll find even at an ALA Conference (this is true). More info here.
7. TLA (Texas Library Association) Annual Conference (April 17-20th) – Oh, there are state library association meetings and then there are state library association meetings. The one that everyone talks about, though, is in Texas.... More info here.
8. ALA (The American Library Association) Conferences (January 20-24 & June 21-26th) – More info here.
9. Comic Con (San Diego July 12-15th and New York Oct. 11-14th) – ... The days when librarians could turn up their noses at comics have long since passed. And honestly, I’ve never been to the San Diego conference before. Word on the street says it’s a madhouse.... More info here.
10. MoCCA (Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art) Festival (April 28th & 29th) – ... A must-stop for anyone interested in the genre. More info here.
11. ChLA (Children’s Literature Association) Conference (June 14-16th) – ... Academics tend to belong to this group, and they deserve our love. I do wish to attend this conference ...in Boston. More info here.
12. PLA (Public Library Association) Conference (March 13-17th) – More info here.
13. NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Annual Convention (November 15-18th) – Vegas, baby, Vegas! ... Think of NCTE as a teacher’s version of ALA.... I’d love to see it. More info here.