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Co-authors Kekla Magoon & Cynthia Leitich Smith in conversation about the inspiration behind The Blue Stars Series: Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem: "When we set out to write a middle grade graphic novel series about cousins who became superheroes to save their school library, we couldn't have imagined how timely our story would become."

From intellectual freedom to AI, there was plenty to learn and discuss at the 2023 SLJ Summit in Atlanta. Here are just some of the ideas that came from those on panels and in breakout sessions.

Ariana Grande, Guillermo del Toro, Padma Lakshmi, Roxane Gay, Gabrielle Union, Sandra Cisneros, Amanda Gorman, Margaret Cho, and Ron Perlman are among the upwards of 175 public figures who signed an open letter calling on creative communities to leverage their voices to stop book bans. 

"Wherever K.C. Boyd goes, excellence is bound to follow." So began our profile of Boyd, named the 2022 School Librarian of the Year. 

Ellen Oh's keynote address at the 2022 SLJ Summit extolled the impact of school librarians, the power of books, and the need to keep fighting against censorship attempts.

“If not me, who else?” Given the abuse Amanda Jones suffered—she was publicly accused of promoting pornographic materials in the library’s children’s section—“Why me?” might have been more like it. Instead, the school librarian took measure.

Boyd, librarian at Jefferson Middle School Academy in Washington, DC, earned the annual honor for her innovative programming, advocacy, and dedication to her students and community.