What a Wonder

Brian Selznick delivered the Arbuthnot Lecture, titled “Love Is a Dangerous Angel: Thoughts on Queerness and Family in Children’s Books” at the Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library in Washington, D.C., on May 9. Following the lecture was a reception at the District of Columbia Public Library, where an exhibit of Selznick’s work, “Building Wonder, Designing Dreams: The Bookmaking of Brian Selznick,” is currently on display. Here, a spiffed-up Selznick poses in front of an oversized image from Wonderstruck.

Real Librarians Wear Tutus

On May 6, Simon & Schuster held its Children’s Fall 2015 Librarian Preview in Manhattan. Guest speakers at the event were actor Nathan Lane and Devlin Elliott, authors of Naughty Mabel, illustrated by Dan Krall (Oct). Joining them were members of S&S’s education and library department, dressed up in the spirit of the book’s canine heroine, who sports a tutu: (from l.) Anthony Parisi, Candace Greene, Michelle Leo, Nathan Lane, Devlin Elliott, Betsy Bloom, and Christine Naulty.

In Good Company

Twin Cities Lit Con was held on May 9 at Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, Minn. The event hosted over 800 attendees eager to hear from their favorite authors, which included Gayle Forman (l.), Gene Luen Yang (r.), plus Matt de la Peña, E. Lockhart, and a number of local authors. The day’s events consisted of writing workshops, book-talk sessions, and an exhibit hall with YA publishers.

Out of This World

Authors Elise Allen (left) and Daryle Conners celebrated the launch of Gabby Durran and the Unsittables (Disney-Hyperion) at an event on May 9 hosted by Barnes & Noble at the Americana mall in Glendale, Calif. The book is the first in a middle-grade series about a 12-year-old babysitter who is recruited to care for extraterrestrial children. Fans were treated to a reading, Q&A with the authors, giveaways, alien face painting, and a book signing.

Book Buddies

The San Diego Public Library hosted an event for Sarah Dessen on May 6 for her newest YA novel, Saint Anything (Viking). Here, Dessen sits with her teen host for the afternoon, Nkechi Iroanusi. More than 150 fans turned out to meet Dessen at the event, part of Dessen’s two-week, 12-city tour. She will also attend BEA and BookCon, where she will participate in a panel with Gayle Forman and Jenny Han called “BFF’s Forever.”

A Big Welcome Back

Pam Muñoz Ryan, author of Echo (Scholastic Press), spoke to a full house at Warwick’s bookstore in La Jolla, Calif., on May 7. The event was a homecoming for the California resident (she lives near San Diego), after having been on an extensive national tour for Echo this spring.