Austin’s African American Book Festival will celebrate a decade of promoting literature by and about African Americans at the Carver Museum and Library on Saturday, June 25, 2016, from 9 am – 4 pm. This year our keynote speaker is Sharon G. Flake, a nationally recognized young adult author of such books as The Skin I’m In, Bang! and Pinned.
Flake’s novels have a universality that crosses ethnicity, age groups, cultures and education levels. It’s no wonder that many teachers refer to Flake’s work as “the gateway to the cannon.” She has won multiple Coretta Scott King awards, a YWCA Racial Justice Award, and was an NAACP nominee for young adult fiction.
Festival organizers are excited to focus on young adult literature and how powerful it can be in the lives of young people. This year’s keynote address will be staged as the most exciting class you've ever attended, because learning and literature can and should be fun. This interactive event will feature literature, movement, music, and prizes.
Flake is a high-energy speaker; she joins the list of distinguished artists who have helped us reach this decade milestone, including Pulitzer Prize-winners Leonard Pitts and Annette Gordon-Reed, best-selling authors Terry McMillan and MK Asante, and historians Arnold Rampersad and Peniel Joseph.
The festival is free and open to the public.
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