Hear YA authors Whaley, Handler, Kalman, Hinwood, Silvey and Stiefvater at the 2012 Michael L. Printz Program and Reception

CHICAGO — American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference attendees won’t want to miss the 2012 Michael L. Printz Program and Reception, held by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) from 8–10 p.m. on June 25 in Anaheim, Calif.

The Printz Award, named in January at the Youth Media Awards, honors the best book written for teens each year. Author John Corey Whaley whose book “Where Things Come Back” won this year’s award, will speak, as will honor book author Daniel Handler and illustrator Maira Kalman (“Why We Broke Up”); author Christine Hinwood (“The Returning”); Craig Silvey (“Jasper Jones”); and Maggie Stiefvater (“The Scorpio Races”). The award is sponsored by Booklist.

A reception follows the program, where attendees can mingle with authors and network with colleagues over light refreshments and a cash bar.

Tickets for the program and reception cost $34. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

You can purchase tickets, along with registration for the ALA Annual Conference, at www.alaannual.org. Advanced registration ends May 13. If you have already registered and would like to add the Printz Program and Reception to your registration, you can do so (1) by phone: Call ALA Registration at 1 (800) 974-3084 and ask to add the Printz Program and Reception to your existing registration; or (2) Online: Add an event to your existing registration by clicking this Annual Registration link. Use your login and password to access your existing Annual registration and add events in the “Your Events” section (screen 6). Then simply check out and pay for the events you’ve added.

Find out about the many other ALA Annual Conference & Exhibits highlights—speakers, events, networking opportunities, and more. For general information about the meeting in Anaheim, Calif., June 21-26, 2012, visit www.alaannual.org. Save money with Early Bird Registration, open until midnight, Sunday, May 13, 2012.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audiobooks for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office at 1 (800) 545-2433, ext. 4390, yalsa@ala.org, or @yalsa.