Opening Keynote
Jason Reynolds
Thursday, October 8, 2026
Location: First Interstate Center for the Arts
Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of many award-winning books, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely), Long Way Down, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (with Ibram X. Kendi), Stuntboy, in the Meantime (illustrated by Raúl the Third), and Ain’t Burned All the Bright(with artwork by Jason Griffin). The recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Reynolds is also the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
He has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, and various media outlets. He is on faculty at Lesley University, for the Writing for Young People MFA Program and lives in Washington, DC.
Closing Keynote Speaker
Kelly Yang
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Location: First Interstate Center for the Arts.
Kelly Yang is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Front Desk series, New From Here, Finally Seen, Finally Heard, young adult novels Parachutes and Private Label and picture books Yes We Will and Little Bird Laila. Her books have earned multiple awards, including the 2019 APALA Award for Children’s Literature, the Strega Prize for Literature, have been named one of the Best Books of the 21st Century by Kirkus, and have featured on multiple best of the year lists.
In addition to being a novelist, she has written screenplays and television pilots for Netflix, CBS Studios, and the CW. Kelly immigrated to the United States when she was six years old and grew up in Southern California. She went to college at the age of 13 and is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School, an experience that provides her a unique perspective on aging. The Take is her first adult novel.
