Gary D. Schmidt
Award-winning writer, Gary Schmidt, will be the keynote speaker for students in grades six through eight. Schmidt is the author of several novels for young adults. He has received the Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, and a Newbery Honor for Wednesday Wars. His book, Okay for Now, was named a finalist for the National Book Award and won the 2012 Children’s Choice Book of the Year Award. In addition to writing, Schmidt is a professor of English at Calvin College.
Links
Website of Gary Schmidt
More about the Children's Choice Award
Interview with Schmidt
Review of Okay for Now
Excerpt from Okay for Now
Reading by Schmidt
Excerpt from Wednesday Wars
Review of Wednesday Wars
Interview with Schmidt
Michael P. Spradlin
Michael P. Spradlin is the author of several books for children and teens, including the Spy Goddess book series (HarperCollins). His first novel, Spy Goddess: Live and Let Shop (January, 2006), was a 2006 Edgar Award nominee by the Mystery Writers of America for Best Young Adult Mystery. Spy Goddess: To Hawaii, With Love (January, 2008), the second novel in the series, was given a starred review by VOYA (Voice of Youth Activists). Spradlin’s final book of the series, Spy Goddess: The Chase for the Chalice (February, 2008), is available in a brand new Manga format. In his latest book, The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail, Spradlin takes readers on a medieval adventure filled with action, suspense, and mystery. This novel will be published in the fall of 2008 and is the beginning of a new series. Spradlin lives with his family in Lapeer, Michigan.
Excerpt from, The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail.
Interview with Spradlin. [click on the "features" tab beneath the book cover]
