October 14 & 15, 2000
Alma Flor Ada
Alma Flor Ada is Professor Emerita at USF, founder and first Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the National Assoc. for Bilingual Education (NABE), and award winning author of books for children and adolescents, writes in a variety of genres. Her memoir Under the Royal Palms: A Childhood in Cuba earned the Pura Belpré Award. My Name is Maria Isabel was a NCSS/CBC Notable Book and ABA "Pick of the Lists" and the Hidden Forest book, Dear Peter Rabbit, won the Parents' Choice Award. Her books for teachers include A Magical Encounter and Authors In the Classroom: Transformative Education for Teachers, Students, and Families. New releases are Pio Peep, I Love Saturdays y domingos and Mamá Goose, A Latino Nursery Treasury. Website: www.almaflorada.com
Ashley Bryan
Ashley Bryan grew up in the Bronx, New York in a house full of storytellers. His parents were from the island of Antigua in the Caribbean. With more than 30 books to his credit, he has won the Coretta Scott King Award for Beat the Story Drum, Pum-Pum. The Lion and Ostrich, his ABC's of African Tales and What a Morning! were all honor books. He is the recipient of the Arbuthnot Prize, an international achievement award. Ashley has been making books since he was a child. He studied at the Cooper Union Art School and Columbia University. He has taught at Queens College, Lafayette College and Dartmouth. He presently lives on an island off the coast of Maine.
Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni is world renowned for her poetry and essays. She is also a college professor, a world traveler, an editor, and a respected author of fiction and essays. Ms. Giovanni attended Fisk University in Nashville and the Columbia University School of Arts. She holds fourteen Honorary Doctorates from a variety of Universities and is the recipient of the Langston Hughes Award. She has also been named to the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, the Outstanding Woman of Tennessee, and given the NAACP Image Award for Love Poems. She has created a film, Spirit To Spirit: The Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, which earned the Silver Apple Award from the Oakland Museum Film Festival, as well as records, tapes and CDs. She is famous for her explorations and illuminations of African American heritage. As one of the first celebrated and controversial poets to emerge from the Black Arts Movement, she has achieved and maintained fame as a praised and noted literary figure. Her poetry for children includes, Ego Tripping and Other Poems for Young Readers, Vacation Time, Knoxville, Tennessee, The Genie in the Jar, and The Sun is So Quiet. Nikki is now a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech. Website: www.nikki-giovanni.com
Ken Mochizuki
Ken Mochizuki holds a degree in communications from the University of Washington and has spent many years as a newspaper journalist. His special interest concerns the history and current issues of Americans of Asian descent. He is the author of three children's books. Baseball Saves Us, winner of the Parents' Choice Award, Not Just for Children Anymore Selection, Children's Book Council (CBC) Winner, the Washington State Governer's Writers Award, and was named "Best Multicultural Title of 1993" by Publishers Weekly for their annual Cuffies Awards, Editor's Choice by the San Francisco Chronicle, Choices by CCBC and Pick of the Lists by the American Booksellers. Heroes was a Teacher's Choice Award and named a Notable Book for Children by Smithsonian Magazine. Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story was an ALA Notable Children's Book, received awards from the International Reading Association, NCTE Notables in Language Arts, National Council of Teachers of English Notable Books for Children, Smithsonian Magazine, Notable Books for a Global Society, International Reading Association (IRA), and Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies.
Anne Pellowski
Anne Pellowski is a writer, a consultant, and a lecturer. She speaks six languages and is known internationally as a consummate storyteller. She was recently recognized as the "Outstanding Woman of the Arts and Humanities" in Winona, Minneapolis. She earned her bachelor's degree at the College of St. Teresa attended the University of Munich, Germany on a Fullbright Scholarship, and a master's degree in library science at Columbia University, New York. For eight years she was a children's librarian at the New York Public Library. She holds a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Colorado. She founded and directed the Information Center on Children's Cultures of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF. Ms. Pellowski's books include the much loved The Storytelling Handbook and The Story of Vine. She has also written A World of Children's Stories, The World of Storytelling and The Family Storytelling Handbook, as well as her many stories about Polish family life.
Gayle Ross
Gayle Ross is a descendant of John Ross, Principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation during the infamous "Trail of Tears." Her grandmother told stories and it is from this rich heritage that Gayle's storytelling springs. During the past fifteen years, Gayle has become one of the best-loved and most respected storytellers to emerge from the current surge of interest in this timeless art form. She has appeared at almost every major storytelling and folk festival in the United States and Canada. Whether she is providing laughter with a trickster tale or moving her many listeners to tears with a haunting Cherokee creation, Gayle is truly a master of the age-old craft of storytelling.
Gary Soto
Gary Soto is the author of ten poetry collections for adults. His recollections Living Up the Street received a Before Columbus Foundation 1985 American Book Award. His poems have appeared in many literary magazines. He was one of the youngest poets to appear in The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry. He received the Recognition of Merit from the Claremont Graduate School for Baseball in April and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1999 he received the Literature Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the PEN Center West Book Award for Petty Crimes. Mr. Soto was a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at UC Riverside. He serves on several boards, including Arte Americas, and La Galeria de La Raza. His books for children and adolescents also include A Fire in My Hands: A Book of Poems, Baseball in April and Other Stories, Taking Sides, Pacific Crossing, Crazy Weekend, Jesse, Summer on Wheels, Buried Onions, Too Many Tamales, El Viejo y su Puerta, Snapshots from a Wedding, Big Bushy Moustache, Local News, Chato and the Party Animals, Canto Familiar, Cat's Meow, and Chato's Kitchen. Website: www.garysoto.com
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