Register Now for the ACL Institute – “We’re History” to be held April 12, 2013: Register now for the 2013 ACL Institute, which focuses on local history by finding and sharing the voices and stories of our past.  The ACL Institute will be held on Friday, April 12, 2013, 9am-4pm at the San Leandro History Museum, 320 West Estudillo Ave., San Leandro (one block from the San Leandro BART station). Speakers include author Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (No Crystal Stair), storyteller Kirk Waller, community historian Donna Graves, and Kay Lunine from the UC Berkeley History Social Science Project.  Advance registration: $55 ACL members, $65 nonmembers, $25 students.

Online registration ends March 24, so register now as seating is limited: http://www.bayviews.org/institute.html.

Authors Lisa McMann and Jennifer A. Nielsen at Pleasanton Library: Visiting Pleasanton as part of a national tour, children’s authors Lisa McMann and Jennifer A. Nielsen will speak about their writing and share their latest books.  The visit will take place in the children’s area of the Pleasanton Library on Thursday, March 21 at 4:00pm. “The Trap Door” by McMann, is the latest title in the popular Infinity Ring series, and Nielsen’s “The Runaway King” is the second book in her Ascendance trilogy. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet these two rising stars in children’s publishing! Co-sponsor Towne Center Books will have copies of both authors’ books available for purchase and autographing. Best for 4th grade and older. http://www.ci.pleasanton.ca.us/services/library/programs-events-child.html.

 2013 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer and New Illustrator Awards were announced on March 4, 2013. The awards are for writers and illustrators of picture books in the spirit of Ezra Jack Keats, who have written and illustrated no more than three previous picture books.

The winner of the EJK New Writer Award is Julie Fogliano for And Then It’s Spring (Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan). Honor winners are Mara Rockliff for My Heart Will Not Sit Down (Knopf/Random House), Jennifer Lanthier for The Stamp Collector (Fitzhenry & Whiteside), and Don Tate for It Jes’ Happened (Lee & Low Books).

The winner of the EJK New Illustrator Award is Hyewon Yum for Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten! (Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan). Honor winners are K.G. Campbell for Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters (Kids Can Press) and Sanjay Patel for Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth (Chronicle Books).

The awards will be presented at the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi on April 11:  http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/ezra-jack-keats-award-winners/.