ReedPop announced the author lineup for BookExpo’s 2020 Children’s Book & Author Breakfast, which will be held on Friday, May 29, at the Javits Center in New York City, and hosted and moderated by renowned children's author Judy Blume.
This year’s author breakfast will also mark the 50th anniversary of Blume’s celebrated novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, a seminal work of fiction for adolescents that explores religious belief and affiliations. Blume will discuss the impact of the novel as well as introduce her fellow authors and moderate a discussion about all the books.
Joining Blume on the breakfast panel will be dancer Misty Copeland, the first African-American female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, who is publishing Bunheads (illustrated by Setor Fiadzigbey), the first in a series of picture books inspired by her early years as a ballet dancer. Next on the panel will be Academy Award-winning actress, director, and activist Natalie Portman who will discuss Natalie Portman’s Fables, a book which will retell three classic fairytales—The Tortoise and the Hare, The Three Little Pigs, and Country Mouse and City Mouse—with empathy and humor for a new generation of young readers and their parents.
Also on the panel, Raj Haldar will showcase his forthcoming No Reading Allowed, which pokes fun at the English language as it teaches young readers about the meanings of words, confusing phrases, and tricky rules of punctuation. Bestselling author Marie Lu will be on hand to talk about her new novel, Skyhunter, in which she imagines a world at war and discusses the evolution of the dystopian genre in works for younger readers. And finally Kwame Mbalia’s new work, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, will continue to feature characters from African-American folklore and African gods in a story in which Mbalia's title character will face a new series of adventures and challenges.
BookExpo event director Jennifer Martin said, "The Children’s Book & Author Breakfast showcases the diversity of genres, book types, authors, and publishers within the world of children’s and young adult literature. We’re extraordinarily thrilled to have such a varied group of authors who will bring such unique and different perspectives to our show.”
