Middle Grade Author Panel

Join us to hear all about Cordelia Jensen's latest middle grade novel-in-verse: Lilac and the Switchback. She will be joined by fellow middle grade authors Laura Shovan (The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary) and Naomi Milliner (The Trouble with Secrets). There will be a dicussion between the 3 authors and then a book signing will follow.

This event is perfect for readers ages 8 and above! All 3 of the authors' books will be available to purchase at the event.

Cordelia Jensen has an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has published four verse novels: Lilac and the Switchback, Skyscraping, The Way the Light Bends, and Every Shiny Thing, co-authored with Laurie Morrison. Her books have received starred reviews, state award list nominations, and NCTE Notable Verse Novel recognition. Along with being a certified book coach, Cordelia has taught creative writing in a variety of settings, including Bryn Mawr College, Germantown Friends School, The Writing Barn and The Kelly Yang Project, and currently teaches verse novel classes for The Highlights Foundation.

Laura Shovan is a novelist, educator, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. Her award-winning children’s books include The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, Takedown, and the Sydney Taylor Notable A Place at the Table, written with Saadia Faruqi. She is a longtime poet-in-the-schools for the Maryland State Arts Council and teaches for Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, the Highlights Foundation, and Whale Rock Writing Workshops. Her latest poetry collection for kids is Welcome to Monsterville.

Naomi Milliner is the author of Super Jake & the King of Chaos (Running Press Kids) and The Trouble with Secrets (Quill Tree/HarperCollins), as well as coeditor and story contributor of On All Other Nights (Abrams), which was a Junior Library Guild Selection. She created the Authors Book Club for her SCBWI chapter, served on The Women’s National Book Association’s Great Group Reads Committee since 2009, and enjoys mentoring both children and adults. Naomi lives in Olney, MD with her family, too many books to count, and one very fuzzy cat.