ChLA thrives on the generosity of its members. Over the years, many of you have given your time and expertise to our organization, volunteering on committees and contributing to pressing conversations in our field. This work contributes to ChLA’s mission to encourage high standards of criticism, scholarship, research, and teaching in children’s literature.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Dear colleagues,
Dear friends and colleagues,
Dear Colleagues:
Right now—today, right after I finish writing this note—I’m teaching Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X in my junior/senior English seminar on Race & Representation in YA Literature. If you don’t know this award-winning novel in verse, I highly recommend it. In brief, powerful vignettes, the novel depicts a fifteen-year-old Dominican girl’s sophomore year in high school: her conflicts with her over-protective Catholic mother, the hypersexualization and harassment she encounters from men in school and on the street, and the development of her poetic voice. My students are knocked out by the power of the poetry, the honesty of its depiction of sexual harassment and microaggression, the refusal to exoticize its Afro-Latinx protagonists. I hope that those of you who teach are having similarly enlivening experiences right now, whatever you are engaged with: for me, it’s what makes it all worthwhile. And The Poet X is one of those books I first heard about from you, my colleagues. Indeed, my entire syllabus is an homage to ChLA, filled with books I learned about in your talks and articles, or in conversations among conference-goers or committee members. So thank you: you are making my spring semester sing.
I hope we can do the same for you. As you probably know, ChLA is in a period of transition: we have not had a full-time association manager since last summer, have not had an in-person conference since 2019, and have spent the last year working with a DEI consulting firm. Things feel a little shaky at times. But our core values are solid: inclusivity, diversity, integrity, development, and celebration remain at the heart of what we do. As we move forward towards the conference in June, the Board and Executive Committee continue to keep those values in mind. They helped guide our decision to approve a pilot program, brought to us by the Diversity Committee, to waive conference registration fees for a small number of first-time attendees who are Black and Indigenous scholars and students from the conference’s area, as well as scholars and students who teach at or attend Atlanta-area HBCUs or Indigenous colleges. We hope to be able to expand this program in the future. It is a small step, but one we are happy to be able to make even in the midst of economic uncertainty, as it reflects both our core values and acknowledges the importance of diversifying our membership. My deep thanks to Michelle Pagni Stewart, Diversity Committee Chair; Cristina Rhodes, Diversity Committee Liaison; and the entire Diversity Committee for bringing this proposal to the Board.
There’s more news as well:
● Starting this month, we have a new Association Manager, Steve Gigantiello. Steve has over twenty years of relevant experience, including association management experience with Meeting Expectations. He will be working 50% time with ChLA, initially supporting Kelly Johnson and working especially on conference planning. After June he will transition to more association management duties. Email to [email protected] reaches both him and Kelly, who also continues to support us–and who has our gratitude for her generous assistance in this long-term “interim” position!
ChLA will begin accepting online nominations and applications for our awards and grants beginning December 15, 2020 continuing through February 1, 2021. If you know someone whose undergraduate or graduate work deserves to be recognized by ChLA, please consider nominating them for the Carol Gay Award or the Graduate Student Essay Award. Is there someone within ChLA that has contributed in significant ways to enhance others’ scholarship and/or professional careers within the field of children’s literature? Nominate them for the Mentoring Award!
Our successful first virtual conference, ChLA 2021—The Arcade, ended over six weeks ago, and my head is still spinning. Thinking about it actually sends me back to my first ChLA 20 years ago, in Buffalo, NY. At the time I was a recently-tenured faculty member and had spent my sabbatical shifting my focus from Victorian literature to children’s literature instead of working on the “tenure” book that I have, actually, never written. Then, as now, I came back from the conference filled with new ideas, with hope, with possibility—and with no small amount of trepidation as well.
The Anne Devereaux Jordan Award is intended to honor the lifetime achievement of an individual whose scholarship and/or service have had a significant impact on the field of children’s literature scholarship. The award is not restricted to ChLA members or to those whose work has benefited the Association specifically. The award may be given posthumously. To nominate someone for the Anne Devereaux Jordan Award, send a letter that explains the person’s accomplishments and contributions to children’s literature scholarship and/or service to the ADJ Award Committee chair, Bev Clark, at [email protected]. If possible, include the nominee’s current vita with the nomination letter. Nominations must be received no later than October 1, 2020. Although nominees are considered annually, there may be years in which no award is given.
ChLA has established three new committees in response to the organization's evolving needs. These committees are devoted to identifying and addressing problems and challenges within the organization (Ombuds Committee), reviewing reports of alleged violations of the organization’s Anti-Harassment and Appropriate Conduct Policy (Ethics Committee), and ensuring that ChLA honors its commitments to equity, diversity, and access, especially for disabled members of the organization (Accessibility Committee). Descriptions of these committees may be found in the newly revised and updated Policies and Procedures Manual, approved by the ChLA Board in September 2020.
ChLA members are invited to propose virtual meetings or workshops to discuss topics of interest to the ChLA community. Members may also volunteer to host virtual workshops sponsored by the ChLA Membership Committee.
See your colleagues present their research at the ChLA-Sponsored Forums at the 2021 MLA Annual Convention, which will be virtual.
We wish to solicit your help in selecting a slate of candidates for the ChLA general election that will be held in February of 2021. Please make recommendations for any or all positions listed. You will find the nomination form by logging into your ChLA account and clicking on "Member Center" under the "Members" tab.
The ChLA Board has approved the publication of the organization’s “Core Values” - the essential principles that underpin the work the organization and its members undertake to fulfill the ChLA mission to “Encourag[e] high standards of criticism, scholarship, research, and teaching in children’s literature.” To learn more about the values that motivate ChLA, please visit the ChLA website and its page devoted to articulating its core values.
Call for Roundtable Participants:
Phoenix Award Session
Thomas Crisp, ChLA President, holds monthly virtual Office Hours. During those times, members have an opportunity to speak with the President in an informal setting to share their thoughts, concerns, and to discuss matters related to our organization. Please know that during those meetings, Thomas will not make official remarks or speak on behalf of the organization. The purpose is for him to hear directly from you about anything you want to share regarding ChLA. Thomas will bring what he learns during those sessions to the Executive Committee and Board of Directors on an ongoing basis.
Children’s books saved my life.
As the end of February nears, I want to note that registration is open for the June 2020 Children’s Literature Association conference, “Sustainability Through Story: Eco-Justice, Children’s Literature, and Childhood.” I hope that you can join me in Bellevue, June 18-20. I understand from the conference organizers Michelle Martin and Liz Mills that Bellevue is a beautiful mid-sized city within easy access of Seattle.
The author or editor of three dozen books, hundreds of articles, reviews, and editorials, and frequent guest lecturer at universities and conferences, Peter Hunt has had an exceptional influence on the profession. His work on narrative theory’s intersection with children’s literature was important in the 1980s, and since then he has done a great deal to theorize, challenge, and expand the academic study of children’s literature. He coined the term “childist criticism,” arguing the need to appreciate, understand, and value the perspectives of children. His books have been translated into nine languages, including Greek, Arabic, and Chinese, and he has served the field through his editorial work, including editing and annotating several classic works of children’s literature. His scholarship and service have already been honored with the Distinguished Scholarship Award from the International Society for the Fantastic in the Arts (in 1995) and the Brothers Grimm Award for services to children’s literature, from the International Institute for Children’s Literature in Osaka (in 2003).
