Gather, a Kidlit Podcast The Highlights Foundation

Valerie Bolling, Jack Wong, Lucy Ruth Cummins and Emily Joof kicked off summer by sharing four picture books about swimming; revealing the story behind their stories, and have a conversation about representing diversity in picture books.

Special guest alums Jasminne Poulino and Elizabeth Lilly joined some members of the Highlights Foundation team for a question-and-answer session about coming to an in-person program at the Highlights Foundation. If you missed it, you can see the video and read the transcript below.

Author/agent Sera Rivers and agent Linda Camacho joined us for an #HFGather conversation facilitated by author Heather Demetrios about their personal experiences crafting and sharing books with readers–Sera sharing as an author shaping her past into a novel and Linda as a friend of the Rebecca Dykes Writers’ mission and as a literary agent with her experiences selling books and supporting the authors and illustrators who create them. Heather will facilitate the conversation, and talk about her experience with the Rebecca Dykes Writers and her experiences teaching at the Highlights Foundation’s Writing Through Trauma to Empower Readers.

Highlights Foundation Program Director Alison Green Myers celebrated our 2024 scholarship program with some special guests: scholarship recipients Camellia Koo, Karol Ruth Silverstein, Elyse Arring and Shuba Mohan. Special thanks to our ASL Interpreter, Cynthia Norman. 

Erin Entrada Kelly and Laurel Snyder joined George Brown to discuss their writing process, how to write for the middle grade audience, their current works in progress, and their recent middle grade retreat experience.

Intisar Khanani joined George Brown to discuss writing the Mighy Girls series, being a mentor and mentee at the Highlights Foundation, and her writing process as an intuitive writer.