2010 YA Lit Symposium Closing Session

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Featuring Ellen Hopkins and Lauren Myracle

Sunday, Nov. 7, 10:30 a.m. to noon

The closing session for the 2010 Young Adult Literature Symposium will feature popular YA authors
Ellen Hopkins and
Lauren Myracle! Hopkins and Myracle, both frequent targets of censorship, will speak about intellectual freedom and what it's like to write about sensitive topics that are frequently challenged or banned. Both Hopkins and Myracle are noted advocates for intellectual freedom.

The closing session will take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Nov. 7 at the Albuquerque Marriott in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Hopkins recently made headlines when the Humble Teen Lit Festival near Houston, Texas, disinvited her from appearing, citing complaints from middle school parents. After Hopkins made the decision public, several other participating authors withdrew, resulting in the cancellation of the January 2011 event. Her books have made YALSA's
Teens' Top Ten and
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

Myracle, author of the popular ttyl series and other books, topped the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom’s list of most frequently challenged authors in 2009. In October 2009, Scholastic asked Myracle to alter her novel
Luv Ya Bunches for its book fair listing. While Myracle agreed to tone down some of the language, she refused to alter the sexual orientation of one of the main characters’ parents. Scholastic dropped the book from its book fairs, although they eventually included a sanitized version (with the same-sex parents included) to its middle school list but left it off the elementary school list.

Myracle's books have appeared in YALSA's
Best Books for Young Adults and
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.