CHICAGO – Sarah Dessen will appear as one of three featured speakers during “Authors in the Afternoon” presented during the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) National Conference & Exhibition. Dessen, along with Christian Robinson and Jordan Sonnenblick, will discuss her work and answer attendee-submitted questions during this new author event taking place Thursday, Nov. 9. Registration and more information regarding the conference can be found at national.aasl.org.
Dessen is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels for teens. She is the recipient of the 2017 ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award for outstanding contribution to young adult literature for her novels “Dreamland,” “Keeping the Moon,” “Just Listen,” “The Truth about Forever,” “Along for the Ride,” “This Lullaby,” and “What Happened to Goodbye?”
In an article for the Los Angeles Times in 2011, Susan Carpenter writes, “Sarah Dessen is something of a rock star in young adult fiction. Her bestselling coming-of-age novels are warmly written explorations of teens in transition that are, by turns, questioning, humorous and hopeful…It's increasingly rare for a young-adult writer to be so classy in handling such issues, but that is one of Dessen's many strengths.”
“The committee wanted Sarah Dessen at AASL because she is the master of writing about teenage angst, identity crises, budding romance, and fitting in,” said Karen Perry, author co-chair. “She is one of the most popular authors at high schools across America.”
Dessen's appearance is made possible by Penguin Random House. An additional registration fee of $35 is required in advance of the event.
The AASL National Conference & Exhibition is the only national conference dedicated solely to the needs of school librarians and their roles as educational leaders. “Beyond the Horizon,” taking place Nov. 9-11, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona, will feature preconference workshops, concurrent sessions and an exhibition featuring companies relevant to the profession. Those communicating about the national conference are encouraged to use the official hashtag, #aasl17.
The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.
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Contact:
Jennifer Habley
Manager, Web Communications
AASL
American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
jhabley@ala.org312-280-4383
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