It’s taken me a long time to recover from this year’s ALAN Workshop, and I mean that in the best possible way. Every year I return home from ALAN with renewed energy for the work I do as a young adult literature advocate. This year, however, my sense of renewal was combined with a new sense of humility and wonder. If you were in Atlanta, what you experienced over two days reflected a year’s worth of planning and the contributions of countless volunteers. It also reflected the sheer passion that we in the YA community share for books, teens, and reading. 

Publishers take note of this passion; that’s why they support us. But authors notice, too. One author told me during the workshop that ALAN is the conference that authors most want to attend each year, and it’s because of the tremendous enthusiasm they encounter when they meet us—the members of ALAN.

From a note handwritten by Carrie Mesrobian, Morris Award Finalist, co-host of The Oral History Podcast, and author of the forthcoming JUST A GIRL  (HarperCollins, 3/17): "I want you to know how much it meant to me to be at ALAN this year, especially after experiencing it last year. For an author who doesn’t personally know a lot of teenaged readers to get to talk to such passionate and inspiring teachers and librarians who are daily working to build a nation of readers? Wow. The whole conference is like a tonic for my pessimistic soul ….Thank you for having Christa and me; I will always sing the praises of ALAN to every author and teacher I cross paths with in the future."

From an email written by Beth Eller, School and Library Marketing Director at Bloomsbury: "No matter how many times I try to prepare new authors for the ALAN program I don’t think they realize what an amazing event it is until they walk in that room and see ALL those people eager to hear what they had to say. And books, books everywhere! Standing by an author during an autographing and hearing people’s comments make it obvious what an engaged audience it is. I’d like to also give a shout-out to the moderators, at least those that worked on the panels I had authors on. They reached out to the authors with thoughtful questions and discussion points and that made the panels both lively and interesting."

I want to echo Beth’s praise for the moderators. This year’s group consisted of a non-traditional mix: some were ALAN veterans; others were ALAN newcomers. All of them were people who brought some special knowledge or connection to the books and authors on their panel, and all of them invested effort in planning and research behind the scenes. They read the books. They corresponded with the authors and publishers to develop a plan for the panel. They fine-tuned that plan in person at a meet-and-greet Sunday afternoon before the ALAN Reception. Finally their work came to fruition on the ALAN stage where they led conversations with intelligence, poise, humor, and humanity. The program theme would have been nothing without the moderators who brought it to life. A complete list of the moderators can be found here.

Now the planning cycle begins again with 2017 ALAN President Laura Renzi at the helm. You’ll be happy to know she’s already begun lining up authors for next year’s workshop. Thank you, ALAN members, for the part you play in our collective renewal.

- Jennifer Bueher, ALAN President 2016

From Laura Renzi, ALAN President 2017:

Young adult literature changes us; it touches us and heals us. Authors, editors, and illustrators create art that calls to the very part of us that needs friendship or comfort, laughter or love, understanding and voice. It holds our hearts as it appeals to our humanity and allows us to not just tell the stories, BUT TO HEAR, the stories that need to be told, in ways that gently bring us to our knees.  At the 2017 ALAN Workshop, we will celebrate the world of young adult literature for opening our minds and changing our hearts, for giving voice to all adolescent experiences.

• YA Lit opens our minds … to those who are marginalized and silenced. To different perspectives to historical events that we thought we knew, or were never taught in the first place.

• YA lit changes our hearts… it provides healing in times of grief. It provides community when we don’t know where to go. It provides an opportunity for readers to engage in those tough conversations that are needed for growth.

• YA lit gives voice to adolescence… in a world where chaos seems to reign, YA literature provides solace, a place to grieve, and a community in which to grow and learn and fight back.

Who are the authors and texts that have changed your mind or opened your heart to a new possibility, or a new way of thinking?

What book, authors, or media do you use to engage your students in difficult conversations about our society? How do you help them develop voice?

How does Young Adult Literature change your heart? What does this mean for you? For your students? What does it look like in your classroom or community?

• Breakout sessions will be 50 minutes in length. 
• All applicants must be members of ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English). You can join or renew your membership at http://www.alan-ya.org/join/. 
• Electronic submissions are due no later than midnight (CST) on Friday, January 15, 2016 and should be sent to: [email protected].

Proposals submitted by mail should be postmarked by Wednesday, January 13, 2016 and sent to: Laura Renzi 500 Main Hall 720 S High St. West Chester University, West Chester PA 19383

An electronic version of this application is available on the ALAN website at www.alan-ya.org.  

I have been a member of ALAN since 2005 when I attended my first ALAN workshop. After that I was HOOKED! As an ALAN board member, I served as a member of the elections committee, a program consultant for the ALAN conference, and as an ALAN state representative for PA.

I have been teaching now for over 20 years. I taught middle/high school English and social studies before getting my PhD at Ohio State University. I am currently an Associate Professor in the English department at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. I teach English methods courses, YA lit courses, supervise student teachers, and coordinate our BSED program. I seek to build safe communities in my classroom and work to help preservice teachers to understand the importance of community.  

As I begin to think about and build the 2017 ALAN workshop, it is to this sense of community that I turn. For me, ALAN is so much more than a workshop I attend once a year. It has become a community for me, a community of people who are as passionate about young adults and reading as I am, friends that I keep in touch with throughout the year, and watch their families grow. It is with this sense of family and community that I am beginning to assemble the pieces for the 2017 workshop themed “Opening Minds, Changing Hearts, and Giving Voice to Adolescence.” I already have a few surprises for you – keep an eye out on ALAN website and Facebook for upcoming announcements. Oh, and don’t forget to put in a proposal for a break out session during the workshop. You can find the call and the break out form here. 

Here's to a wonderful holiday season filled with magic and warmth.

Laura Renzi, ALAN President 2017