Matt de la Peña, 2016 John Newbery Medal Winner and New York Times bestselling author, will deliver the Susan Steinfirst Memorial Lecture in Children's Literature, "Reading (and Writing) from the 'Wrong Side of the Tracks',” on Sunday, March 13, at 3 p.m. at the main branch of the Durham County Library, (300 N. Roxboro Street, Durham, 27701).
Presented by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science (SILS), the event is free and open to the public. In addition to the author's presentation, activities will include storytime for young children, book giveaways, and book signings. Translation will be provided for Spanish-speaking youth and parents.
De la Peña is the author of six critically-acclaimed young adult novels, including Mexican WhiteBoy, The Living, and The Hunted, as well as two picture books. He won the Newbery Medal in January for his most recent picture book, Last Stop on Market Street. Illustrated by Christian Robinson, the book was also named a Randolph Caldecott Medal and Coretta Scott King Book Award honoree.
In conjunction with the lecture, de la Peña will spend a week as an artist in residence at a Wake County middle school. Click here to read more about the newest feature of the Steinfirst vision.
The Steinfirst Lecture honors the memory of Susan Steinfirst, a professor of children's and young adult literature at SILS from 1976 to 1996. Steinfirst dedicated her life to the promotion of children's literature by teaching future librarians and by publishing scholarly works in the field.
