Since 1991 it has been my pleasure to be the founding director of the Butler University Children’s Literature Conference that I proposed and designed. My idea was to create a conference "to encourage the writing and reading of good books for children by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information among authors, illustrators, librarians, teachers, and the general public."  According to a representative of Simon & Schuster, the conference became “one of the premiere children’s literature conferences in the country.”

In addition to featuring Newbery and Caldecott authors, the conference was featured on PBS television, and hosted thousands of children and families at collaborative community events partnering with such organizations as the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore, The Indianapolis Museum of Art, The Children’s Museum, The Madame Walker Urban Life Center, The Jewish Community Center, and the Indianapolis Opera Company.

After nearly 20 years, however, I find it is time for me to devote more of my resources to my own writing.  I have enjoyed the long, successful run of the conference, and I am grateful to all of you who expressed appreciation for the event each year. It pleases me that I have been able to make a positive contribution to the professional lives of librarians, teachers, and writers/illustrators. Thanks for attending—I will miss you.

Valiska Gregory
Conference Director
mail@valiskagregory.com

Speakers at the Butler University Children’s Literature Conference included some of the most well-known authors and illustrators in the children's book world:

Sandy Asher, Elaine Marie Alphin, Avi, Jim Aylesworth, Jan Brett, Ashley Bryan, Eileen Christelow, Bryan Collier, Floyd Cooper, Carolyn, Crimi, Christopher Paul Curtis, Bruce Degen, David Diaz, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Claire Ewart, Denise Fleming, Mem Fox, Helen Frost, Jack Gantos, James C. Giblin, Jamie Gilson, Betsy Hearne, Esther Hershenhorn, Karen Hesse, Will Hillenbrand, Kimberly Willis Holt, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Susan Jeffers, Keiko Kasza, Steven Kellogg, E. L. Konigsburg, Kathryn Lasky, Gail Carson Levine, Ted and Betsy Lewin, Anita Lobel, Lois Lowry, George Ella Lyon, Patricia MacLachlan, Bobette McCarthy, Margaret Mahy, Barry Moser, Stuart Murphy, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Katherine Paterson, Richard Peck, Jerry Pinkney, James Ransome, Pam Munoz Ryan, Robert Sabuda, Scott Russell Sanders, Robert San Souci, Sandy Sasso, April Pulley Sayres, Barbara Shoup, Peter Sis, Coleen Salley, Allen Say, Gary D. Schmidt, Chris Soentpiet, Diane Stanley, Janet Stevens, Rosemary Wells, David Wiesner, David Wisniewski, Ed Young, Paul Zelinsky.