In this panel conversation, three celebrated middle-grade writers will explore the process of creative reinvention, describing their experiences of becoming traditionally published authors after many successful years in other careers. They will share what inspired their creative dreams and discuss some of the obstacles and opportunities they experienced along the path to publication. This conversation will appeal to audiences of all ages, as it's never too late (or too early) to begin manifesting your own creative second act. There will be time for Q&A with attendees.  

Free event

Jennifer Riley Photography

Kate Albus’s first historical novel, A Place to Hang the Moon, was a New York Public Library Best Book for Kids and a Kids Indie Next List pick, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, among many other awards. Her most recent book, Nothing Else But Miracles, also won the NYPL and JLG awards

Megan E. Freeman’s New York Times bestselling novel in verse, Alone, won children’s book awards in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont as well as the High Plains Book Award. A Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, Megan is the author of the poetry chapbook Lessons on Sleeping Alone.

Nancy Tandon’s debut middle-grade novel, The Way I Say It, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, an Indies Introduce and Indies Next Kids pick, and an Indiana Read Aloud Selection. The Ghost of Spruce Point, set in a fictionalized Brooklin, has been named to the Texas Bluebonnet Master List 2024-25.