Best-selling authors Jason Reynolds and Matt de la Peña will headline Bishop Dunne Catholic School’s 2019 Literary Festival April 15-17. The festival engages and inspires students and the greater community by bringing some of the nation’s most respected contemporary writers to the school’s Oak Cliff campus. This year’s festival celebrates poetry, fiction and journalism, and will include an art contest, writing and illustrating workshops for students, and two public events. Last year’s inaugural event brought two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward to Bishop Dunne.
This year’s keynote speaker is young adult author Jason Reynolds, who admits he didn’t read a novel from start to finish until he was 17 years old. Now in his mid-30s, Reynolds has written poetry collections and several books, including Long Way Down, As Brave as You, and the Track series. He has won numerous honors, including a Kirkus Prize, an NAACP Image Award and a Walter Dean Myers Award, and he has appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and CBS Sunday Morning. His novel, Ghost, was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. As part of the 2019 Literary Festival, Reynolds will meet with Bishop Dunne students during the day and give a public talk at 7:00 p.m. on April 15, 2019.
Matt de la Peña’s Newbery Award-winning book, Last Stop on Market Street, is a staple in elementary school and public libraries across the country. His works include four young adult novels, two middle school fantasy novels, and five picture books. Publishers Weekly named his most recent children’s book, Carmela Full of Wishes, illustrated by Christian Robinson, a Best Book of 2018. Lanie DeLay with The Wild Detectives will lead a story time for pre-schoolers based on de la Peña’s books at 9:00 a.m. on April 16, 2019. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited so participants must register in advance. (where will this event be held?) To RSVP for the story hour work, please visit https://www.bdcs.org/explore/literary-festival. Matt de la Peña will be available to sign books after the story hour. Later that day, de la Peña will discuss the writing process with middle and high school students.
In addition to Reynolds and de la Peña, the festival will bring local poet and performance artist Jason Carney, journalist Sarah Hepola, and illustrator Eric Barclay to campus for student workshops. For information about the 2019 Bishop Dunne Literary Festival or to buy tickets to Reynolds’ public talk please visit https://www.bdcs.org/explore/literary-festival. For other details or questions, please contact English Department Chair Brinkley Schneider, [email protected] or Donor Relations Manager Devin Nguyen at 469-291-1796 or [email protected].
Price
- $Free-$15
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