The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University Partners with Scholastic and City of New Orleans for Family Day Lineup of Children’s Authors

The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University announced today it will partner with  Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and the City of New Orleans’ Mayor’s Office of Youth and Families to bring a group of 15 talented and award-winning children’s authors for the event’s inaugural Family Day at the Festival on Saturday, March 21, 2020.  

Dav Pilkey — Caldecott Honoree and #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the phenomenally popular Dog Man® and Captain Underpants® series — will headline the day’s events, which will feature a full schedule of presentations, activities and entertainment, including lively author presentations, book readings, book-related activities and free book distribution. Click here for free tickets for Dav Pilkey’s opening presentation.

Designed to be a dynamic and fun experience for all ages, Family Day is a family-centered, free event that includes a diverse selection of authors and presenters set to interact with kids throughout the day. From book signings to photos with beloved book characters to performances and read-alouds, there will be something for every child in attendance across all reading levels, backgrounds and reading interests.

“Family Day demonstrates how reading is fundamental to the development of the minds of our children, our city's most precious resource."

- New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell

Family Day is open and accessible to all children and their families. As part of the Family Day programming, the Festival will host outreach programs, including author visits to local schools. To participate in programming, the Festival also plans to engage local partners whose mission includes literacy and family-centered initiatives.

“After many years of being involved in a literacy event for children in New Orleans, I am thrilled that Family Day will be held as part of the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University,” said Cheryl Landrieu, co-chair and executive director. “This free event will provide opportunities for children from across the city to come together in a fun, lively atmosphere that supports reading and learning. I’ve always believed that one book can change a child’s life and I’m so excited to see kids meet some of their favorite authors and experience the joy of reading.”

“Family Day demonstrates how reading is fundamental to the development of the minds of our children, our city's most precious resource,” said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “As a mother, I can't think of a more important educational tool than reading. This event also speaks to the critical work being done at the Office of Youth and Families, one of the first moves I made when I became Mayor. I want to thank Cheryl Landrieu, partners such as Scholastic, and Tulane University for working so collaboratively and intentionally to make Family Day a vital part of the New Orleans Book Festival.”

“Walter Isaacson says that every great city needs a book festival and at Scholastic, we say that every book festival needs a great Family Day,” said Judy Newman, president and reader in chief of Scholastic Book Clubs. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Tulane and the City of New Orleans to host a day filled with wonderful books and authors, including the incomparable Dav Pilkey. On Saturday, March 21, kids from all across the City of New Orleans — and their whole families — will get to meet authors and illustrators and experience together the unparalleled power and joy that comes from discovering and reading a story that speaks to them.” 

Along with the City of New Orleans and Scholastic, several other local groups have partnered with the Festival to sponsor Family Day, including 826 New Orleans, AfterClass, Children's Hospital Parenting Center, City Year New Orleans, Community Book Center, Community Works, Impossibility Press, KID smART, Make Music NOLA, Newcomb Art Museum, New Orleans Public Library, Public Allies New Orleans, R.E.A.D., Start the Adventure in Reading, Tulane Center for Public Service: For The Children Literacy and Tutoring Program, Tulane’s Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Whole Village Art Therapy and YAYA Arts Center.

In addition to Pilkey, the children’s authors committed to Family Day at the Festival include Rebecca Balcárcel (The Other Half of Happy), Johnette Downing (Swamp Romp), Freddi Evans (Come Sunday: A Young Reader's History of Congo Square), Emma Fick (Snippets of New Orleans), Deandrea Green-Humble (DeWayne and Mr. Shrimp Po Boy), Tracy Maurer (Samuel Morse, That’s Who!: The Story of the Telegraph and Morse Code), Denise McConduit (The Boy Who Wouldn’t Read), Malcolm Mitchell (The Magician’s Hat), Andrea Davis Pinkney (Martin Rising: Requiem for a King), Michael Strecker (Young Comics Guide to Telling Jokes, Books 1+2; Jokes for Crescent City Kids), Lauren Tarshis (the I SURVIVED series), Jeanette Weiland (Beignets for Breakfast), Kathleen Welch with husband and illustrator Alan McGillivray (Sometimes Even Elephants Forget: A Story About Alzheimer's Disease for Young Children) and Dr. Chris Yandle (Lucky Enough: A Year of a Dad's Daily Notes of Encouragement and Life Lessons to His Daughter).

The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University has received commitments from over 100 national, regional and local authors during the three-day event. For an updated listing of committed authors, please click here.

To see a list of current sponsors and partners for the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University, please click here.

For more information on the book festival, please visit ​www.bookfest.Tulane.edu and follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For more information about Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company, visit: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com.