Charis welcomes two of our favorite path-making writers of kids' and middle grade fiction: Laurel Snyder (The Witch of Woodland, Endlessly Ever After: Pick YOUR Path to Countless Fairy Tale Endings!, Charlie & Mouse, and many more) and Kyle Lukoff (author of "Too Bright To See," "When Aidan Became A Brother," and the forthcoming There’s No Such Thing as Vegetables and "A World Worth Saving" and more!). Snyder and Lukoff each write heart-centered stories for kids' real lives, which means that they have experienced censorship and backlash alongside praise and acclaim. In an era where telling the truth to children has become an increasingly radical and politicized act, we welcome the parents, educators, librarians, writers, and young people in our community who would like to learn more about writing and publishing in our contemporary age. This event is co-sponsored by SOJOURN. SOJOURN is the premiere resource for Jewish and LGBTQ+ education, outreach, and advocacy in the Southern U.S.

Kyle Lukoff is the author of many books for young readers. His debut middle-grade novel, Too Bright To See, received a Newbery honor, the Stonewall award, and was a National Book Award finalist. His picture book When Aidan Became A Brother also won the Stonewall, and his book Call Me Max has been banned in schools across the country. He has forthcoming books about apologies, vegetables, death, unicycles, and lots of other topics. While becoming a writer he worked as a bookseller for ten years, and then nine more years as a school librarian.

Laurel Snyder is the author of many books for young readers, including, most recently, The Witch of Woodland. Other titles include Orphan Island, which was longlisted for the National book Award, and Charlie and Mouse, which was honored with the Geisel Medal.  Laurel teaches in the MFAC program at Hamline University and lives right here in Atlanta.

This event is free and open to all people, especially to those who have no income or low income right now, but we encourage and appreciate a solidarity donation in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Charis Circle's mission is to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CharisCircle?code=chariscirclepage

If you would like to watch the virtual event with computer-generated captions, please watch in Google Chrome and enable captions. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. We are actively learning the best practices for this technology and we welcome your feedback as we continue to connect across distances.

By attending our event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.

Please enter an amount between 0 and $500 to reserve your virtual seat.

Writing for kids in an age of censorship: Kyle Lukoff in conversation with Laurel Snyder