CLA Conference 2021
The California Library Association is partnering with Once Upon A Time Bookstore to provide books for the featured authors and presentors at the 2021 conference. Select authors are providing signed book plates that can be dedicated to libraries or individuals.
Friday May 14th at 10 am
Trans & Non-Binary Authors Panel
A. J. Sass (he/they) is a writer, editor, and competitive skater. A long-time figure skater, he has passed his U.S. Figure Skating Senior Moves in the Field and Free Skate tests, medaled twice at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, and currently dabbles in ice dance. A. J. lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his boyfriend and two cats who act like dogs. Ana on the Edge is his first novel.
Find him online at https://sassinsf.com/ and on Twitter @matokah.
Rivers Solomon (fae/they) writes about life in the margins, where they are much at home. In addition to appearing on the Stonewall Honor List and winning a Firecracker Award, Solomon's debut novel An Unkindness of Ghosts was a finalist for a Lambda, a Hurston/Wright, an Otherwise (formerly Tiptree) and a Locus award. Solomon's second book, The Deep, based on the Hugo-nominated song by Daveed Diggs-fronted hip-hop group clipping, was the winner of the 2020 Lambda Award and shortlisted for a Nebula, Locus, Hugo, Ignyte, Brooklyn Library Literary, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy award. Solomon's short work appears in or is forthcoming from Black Warrior Review, the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, Guernica, Best American Short Stories, Tor.com, Best American Horror and Dark Fantasy, and elsewhere. A refugee of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, Solomon was born on Turtle Island but currently resides on an isle in an archipelago off the western coast of the Eurasian continent.
Find them online at https://www.riverssolomon.com/
Alok Vaid-Menon (they/them) is a gender non-conforming writer and performance artist. Their distinctive style and poetic challenge to the gender binary have been internationally renowned. As a mixed-media artist Alok uses poetry, prose, comedy, performance, fashion design, and portraiture to explore themes of gender, race, trauma, belonging, and the human condition. They are the author of Femme in Public (2017) and Beyond the Gender Binary (2020). In 2019 they were honored as one of NBC’s Pride 50 and Out Magazine’s OUT 100. They have presented their work in more than 40 countries.
Find them online at https://www.alokvmenon.com/ and at @alokvmenon on Instagram.
Order Books by Alok Vaid-Menon
Friday May 14th at 3 pm
Closing Keynote
Blair Imani is a critically-acclaimed historian, social activist, public speaker, educator and influencer. She is the author of two historical books Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History (2018) and Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream (2020). The New York Times praises Blair Imani’s unique “brand combining progressive lessons with vibrant visuals and a perky, quirky delivery.” Her work centers women and girls, global Black communities, and the LGBTQ community.
Blair Imani educates using a variety of social media platforms (Youtube, Instagram, TikTok) in addition to speaking at universities and organizations around the world. She serves on the board of the Tegan and Sara Foundation, and Muslims for Progressive Values.
Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Blair Imani attended Louisiana State University where, in 2014, she founded Equality for HER, a non-profit organization that provided resources and a forum for women and nonbinary people to feel empowered. Her fearless leadership took her to the front lines of anti police violence protests and, following her arrest at the protests of Alton Sterling’s murder in Baton Rouge, Blair began building a platform and social media presence to organize and create awareness about injustices in Black, LGBTQ+, and Muslim communities.
Following her meteoric rise to prominence during the uprisings of 2020, Blair Imani was profiled by The New York Times to discuss her daily routine as a historian, social activist, and influencer. A highly sought-after public speaker, Blair Imani has appeared on FOX News (“Tucker Carlson Tonight”) and MSNBC (“The Point”), presented at colleges and universities (including Harvard, Yale, and Brown), spoken at progressive conferences around the world, and has delivered powerful talks and speeches for organizations that include GLAAD, TEDx, and LoveLoud.
Her viral TEDxBoulder talk, “Queer & Muslim: Nothing to Reconcile”, has sparked important discourse about the intersection of the two identities. In 2019, she was proudly featured in New York City Pride’s campaign honoring the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. From the United States to Germany, Kenya, and the United Kingdom, Blair Imani has inspired audiences around the world.
As an Influencer and historian, semi-retired organizer, and public speaker, Blair Imani is dedicated to making the world a better place and amplifying the voices and work of those fighting the good fight.
Presenting at Trans and Non-Binary Authors Panel on Friday, May 14th at 10 am
Presenting at Trans and Non-Binary Authors Panel on Friday, May 14th at 10 am
Presenting at Trans and Non-Binary Authors Panel on Friday, May 14th at 10 am
Presenting at Trans and Non-Binary Authors Panel on Friday, May 14th at 10 am
Aida will be at the Thursday afternoon Tea Honoring the California Young Reader Medal and Beatty Award Recipients
Isabel will be at the Thursday afternoon Tea Honoring the California Young Reader Medal and Beatty Award Recipients
Alan will be at the Thursday afternoon Tea Honoring the California Young Reader Medal and Beatty Award Recipients
Picture Books for Older Readers 2021-2022 Nominee
Picture Books for Older Readers 2021-2022 Nominee
Picture Books for Older Readers 2021-2022 Nominee
Young Adult 2021-2022 Nominee
Young Adult 2021-2022 Nominee
Young Adult 2021-2022 Nominee
Middle School/Junior High 2021-2022 Nominee
NOT AVAILABLE
Middle School/Junior High 2021-2022 Nominee
NOT AVAILABLE
Middle School/Junior High 2021-2022 Nominee
Intermediate 2021-2022 Nominee
Intermediate 2021-2022 Nominee
Intermediate 2021-2022 Nominee
Primary 2021-2022 Nominee
Primary 2021-2022 Nominee
Primary 2021-2022 Nominee
Primary 2021-2022 Nominee
Primary 2021-2022 Nominee