Friends of the Roarbots Make a Splash at the ALA Annual Conference

The American Library Association’s Annual Conference & Exhibition is one of the prime book events of the year. Between BookExpo America (which is for booksellers) and ALA (which is for librarians), it’s a 1-2 punch for bibliophiles.

This year’s conference will be held this weekend in Washington, DC, and yours truly will be on hand to check out all the book love and festivities. Be sure to follow along on Twitter (@theroarbots & @roarworthy or just #alaac19) for live updates, and then come back next week for some sweet, sweet round-ups and reflections.

For now, though, we wanted to highlight some of the many, MANY author guests who will be making an appearance at this year’s ALA Conference by singling out friends of The Roarbots and The Great Big Beautiful Podcast (in alphabetical order).

Kwame Alexander

Kwame appeared on Episode 131 of the GBBP to chat about Animal Ark, his creative approach to poetry, bending genres, Out of Wonder, and how poetry can save the world.

He’ll be at ALA on Saturday to support his books with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and HarperCollins.

Cece Bell

Cece sat down to be interviewed by Zoey back in 2015 as part of our “5 Questions with a 5-Year-Old” series. We also interviewed her soon after she was awarded the Newbery Honor for El Deafo.

She’ll be at ALA on Saturday with Amulet Books and Candlewick Press, and she’ll be part of a live taping of The Children’s Book Podcast (along with Kate DiCamillo and Shannon Hale) on Sunday.

Preeti Chhibber

We’re jumping the gun a bit on this one, but Preeti will be on the NEXT episode of the GBBP – spoilers! – where we’ll talk about Spider-Man, getting the gig to write about Peter Parker and Ned, and her journey to success.

At ALA, she’ll be promoting Peter and Ned’s Ultimate Travel Journal with Disney Book Group on Saturday.

Delilah S. Dawson

Delilah was on Episode 187 of the GBBP to talk about the ridiculous number of words she’s written over the last few years, the value of writing advice, Phasma, the weird west, pseudonyms, and the difference between YA and “adult” lit.

She’ll be at ALA with Boom! Studios and will have Meet the Author times at the Boom! booth, and she’ll be part of the Discover Yourself in Graphic Novels panel on Saturday.

Kate DiCamillo

The illustrious Kate DiCamillo was on Episode 70 of the GBBP, where we talk about perseverance and determination in the face of rejection, the expectations that come with awards and critical acclaim, her writing regimen, and how writing maintains her sanity. Kate also sat down for our 5 Questions from a 5-Year-Old series.

She’ll be at ALA on Sunday with Candlewick Press and will also be part of a live taping of The Children’s Book Podcast (along with Cece Bell and Shannon Hale).

Grace Ellis

Grace sat down, along with Brooke Allen, to the tough questions of 5 Questions with a 5-Year-Old back in 2014 when Lumberjanes first came out.

She’ll be at ALA with Image Comics on Saturday and Sunday.

Shannon & Dean Hale

Shannon and Dean appeared on Episode 63 of the GBBP and talked about the Princess in Black series, the collaborative writing process, and the unique challenges of working with your spouse.

Shannon and Dean will be at ALA with Candlewick Press on Sunday, and Shannon will be part of a live taping of The Children’s Book Podcast (along with Kate DiCamillo and Cece Bell) on Sunday.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden

Dr. Hayden graced us with her time on Episode 146 of the GBBP, and we had the pleasure of talking about her appointment to the position, her decision to keep the libraries open during the violence in Baltimore, her resistance to the Patriot Act in 2001, how a change in administrations affects her job and the Library as a whole, current and upcoming pop-culture events at the Library, and collaborating with the National Archives.

Dr. Hayden will be a featured speaker at ALA on Saturday where she’ll talk about the important and unique role that libraries provide to the community.

Hena Khan

Hena was on Episode 212 of the GBBP, in which we chat about getting attached to Salaam Reads, using her and her children’s experiences as a foundation for her books, recognizing the differences between those experiences, and telling diverse stories where the characters aren’t being marginalized or overcoming dramatic adversity.

She’ll be at ALA on Saturday to support Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster and Lee and Low Books.

Greg Pak

Greg sat down on Episode 166 of the GBBP to talk about his academic background in politics (he was a Rhodes Scholar!), his transition to graphic storytelling, Mech Cadet Yu, and Asian American representation.

He’ll be at ALA with Boom! Studios and will have Meet the Author times at the Boom! booth and be part of the Discover Yourself in Graphic Novels panel on Saturday.

Rebecca Roanhorse

Tune in to Episode 192 of the GBBP to hear us chat with Rebecca about balancing two completely different professional lives, writing in the first-person, crafting a story that’s both heavily rooted in Native cultures and incredibly relevant to today, and portraying a different side of familiar mythical characters.

She’ll be at ALA on behalf of Simon & Schuster on Saturday and Disney Book Group on Sunday.

Dan Santat

Dan was on the GBBP way back on Episode 54, where we talk about The Replacements (which he created), illustrating books for other people’s words versus his own, and winning the Caldecott Medal. We also talk about how that medal changed his career, his creative approach, and his (and other people’s) expectations.

He’ll be at ALA to support his books with Little, Brown on Saturday and Disney Book Group and Scholastic on Sunday.

John Scalzi

We chatted with John on Episode 125 of the GBBP about the out-of-the-gate success The Collapsing Empire has enjoyed, TV and film rights (and adaptations in general), historical Easter eggs in his writing, the pressures and creative freedom granted by his unprecedented book deal with Tor, the little Wil Wheaton who lives in his head, the JoCo Cruise, and why it’s important for writers to commiserate and discuss the challenges they face.

He’ll be at ALA on Friday to support his library of titles with Tor.

Ronald L. Smith

Ronald swung by the GBBP on Episode 215 to chat about growing up as a military brat, why bullying recurs as a theme throughout his books, the role of adults in kids’ stories, playing in the Marvel sandbox, and Baltimore.

You can find him at ALA on Saturday at the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt booth.

Charles Soule

Charles appeared on Episode 174 of the GBBP, and we talked about The Oracle Year, his unique path to writing success, living in China, jumping between the various headspaces required to be as incredibly prolific as he is, and how he makes it all work.

He’ll be at ALA will have appearances at the Image Comics booth and HarperCollins on Saturday.

Mariko Tamaki

Mariko was on Episode 161 of the GBBP to talk about writing Lumberjanes in novel form, writing what you don’t know, growing up in a mixed-heritage household, queer representation in graphic novels and literature, and whether having the most banned book in the country is a badge of honor or not. She also was part of our DC in D.C. event coverage from 2018.

She’ll make an appearance at the DC Comics booth on Sunday.