Charlotte Huck Festival
Each year, the festival brings together educators, librarians, parents, students, authors, illustrators, editors, and those interested in children’s literature for a unique combination of full conference and small group sessions. Next year our faculty is once again chosen from the "best of the best".
28th Annual Children's Literature Festival
March 7 & 8, 2025
Join over 200 educators & librarians for an unforgettable Professional development opportunity!
Each year, the festival brings together educators, librarians, parents, students, authors, illustrators, editors, and those interested in children’s literature for a unique combination of full conference and small group sessions. Next year our faculty is once again chosen from the "best of the best."
Award winning 2025 Festival Speakers includes:
Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Candace Fleming, Mitali Perkins, Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey, and Dianne White.
Examples of Past Breakout Sessions:
- Give a Poem, Get a Poem: A Writing Workshop
- The Best Multicultural Books for 2024—a Book Talk
- Graphic Picture Books Keep Young Readers Turning the Page
- Let’s Get Lit!
- The Power of the Picture Book (no matter the grade)
- Crank Up the Curiosity: Strategies to Ignite a Love of Nonfiction in Young Readers
- Because Books Matter: Teaching a Love of Literature Through Literacy Groups
- Permission to Feel: How Stories Fuel SEL & Teach Empathy
Why do people come—and keep coming back?
In the words of past participants, it is:
“A small, intimate conference where you can spend time with the authors and illustrators.” “A unique opportunity to spend time with others who share a passion about children’s books.” “Practical ideas for my classroom” and library.
Registration Information
Registration options:
- Meals included in all options
Registration is online, please click on the button on the right (or below if on mobile).
- Full Festival | $249
- Friday, March 1 | $189
- Saturday, March 2 | $145
Special Rates
- Full Festival | $100 | Breakout Session Presenters
- Full Festival | $100 | Student Price |Requires Student I.D, space is limited
REGISTRATION CLOSES AT 5:00 PM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025
Purchase orders only:
Please submit a purchase order referencing this conference and attach a registration form for each attendee. Download the purchase order form below. We will issue an invoice once received and processed.
Meet the Speakers
Learn more about 2025 speakers below and stay tuned for the festival schedule and more!
Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Vanessa Brantley-Newton was born during the Civil Rights movement, and attended school in Newark, NJ. Being part of a diverse, tight-knit community during such turbulent times, Vanessa learned the importance of acceptance and empowerment in shaping a young person’s life. Vanessa celebrates self-love and acceptance of all cultures through her work, and hopes to inspire young readers to find their own voices. Her books include Nesting Dolls, Grandma’s Purse, Just Like Me, and The Youngest Marcher.
Candace Fleming
Candace Fleming is the award winning author of more than twenty books for children and young adults both fiction and non-fiction including Mine and Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, both illlustrated by her husband Eric Rohmann, and The Enigma Girls. Candace has always been a storyteller. She says even before she could write her name, she could tell a good tale—and she told them all the time. For more about Candace and her books, visit her website here. 
Mitali Perkins
Mitali Perkins has written many books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (nominated for a National Book Award) and Rickshaw Girl (adapted into a film by Sleeperwave Productions). Her books explore crossing different kinds of borders and she aims to make readers laugh or cry, preferably both, as long as their hearts are widening. She lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other Mitali Perkins books include Holy Night and Little Star, Home Is In Between, Between My Hands, and Between Us and Abuela.
Diannne White
When Diannne White, picture book author, poetry lover, teacher, was growing up, she never thought she would become a writer. As Dianne says, sometimes the things we come to enjoy best sneak up on us. Years later, we are able to recognize who or what was responsible for initiating the tiny sparks of interest that grew into something bigger. As a classroom teacher, she rediscovered the joy of children’s poetry and books. Dianne’s books include Finding Grateful, Sometimes a Wall…, It’s Your Time to Shine, Goodbye Brings Hello, and Who Eats Orange?
Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey
Jarrett is an award-winning author and illustrator. He spends his time making books in his home near Austin, TX, where he lives with his wife, their two boys, and two dogs. When he’s not making books, you might find him fishing on a river somewhere or tinkering under the hood of his new old F100. Since 2016, Jerome has been a graphic designer at The Walt Disney Company where he uses design and illustration to visually tell stories in print, digital, and immersive experiences. He works primarily from his home office in Georgetown, TX, where he lives with his wife and their three kids. Brothers Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey have been making stuff together since 1981. Their books include There Was a Party for Langston, Somewhere in the Bayou, The Old Truck, The Old Boat, and the new Link and Hud middle grade series.
Festival Resources
Learn more about Dr. Charlotte S. Huck, how to submit a proposal, and festival vendors.
Dr. Charlotte S. Huck (1922-2005)
Charlotte Huck, an internationally renowned children's literature expert who is the inspiration for the Charlotte S. Huck Children's Literature Festival, the National Council of Teachers of English's Charlotte Huck Award, and the Charlotte S. Huck Professorship in Children's Literature.
Call for Proposals
Submit a proposal to lead a breakout session by 10/11/2024. Those awarded will register at a reduced rate of $100.The Festival's mission is to carry on Charlotte Huck’s life work of bringing children and books together to develop readers who will find a lifetime of pleasure in reading good books. Focusing on children's literature for grades K-8, the Literature Festival features small group presentations by educators, librarians, authors, illustrators, editors, and scholars. There are sessions geared to the interests of primary grades, middle grades, librarians, parents, and aspiring writers. We are looking for overviews of classroom activities such as an author, illustrator, or genre study; new books; family literacy programs; multicultural literature; library programs for babies through middle school; historical perspectives on children's literature; current trends, writing for children, social issues and children’s literature and more.
