YA Romantasy for the Win: Suggestions from this Popular Genre by Margaret Robbins A new week and a new post. For my money, one of the great readers of YA Literature is Margaret Robbins. For all of the years I have known her, she is always reading and exploring something new. Every time Margaret writes for the blog I learn something. We are pleased to have Margaret back with us to discuss "Romantasy" with us.  Margaret A. Robbins has a PhD in Language and Literacy Education from The University of Georgia. She is a Teacher-Scholar at The Mount Vernon School in Atlanta, Georgia. She has ..read more

On a Sunbeam and the (extra)Ordinariness of Outer Space by Fawn Canady and the (extra)Ordinariness of Outer Space ​Dr. Fawn Canady is an Associate Professor of Adolescent and Digital Literacies at Sonoma State University in Northern California. Fawn co-directed the . She is a former high school English teacher who prepares literacy teachers K-12. Her interdisciplinary interests include multimodality, climate change literacies, community engagement around literacies, and teacher education.  During Earth Month, I am reminded of the climate crossroads at which we find ourselves. Many books I ..read more

​Books Encourage Environmental Activism While Inspiring Hope and Joy We love it when Sharon Kane is contributing to Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday. With a quick search in my files I found at least 5 other times going back to 2017. No doubt she has contributed more frequently. In addition, I think Sharon has been one of the prolific presenter at various incarnations of YAL Summit at different locations. In short, she is one of the real experts on the research and teaching of Young Adult Literature. Sharon Kane is the author of Teaching and Reading New Adult Literature in High School and College Li ..read more

Spring Break Recommendations for you TBR Pile Our guest contributor is Eddie Young. He is a first time contributor and we are thrilled to have him. Eddie can be found reading voraciously, traveling, watching and analyzing films, or seeking out local hidden food gems when he's not writing or teaching. He is an educator passionate about creative writing who offers inspiration and community. He is a graduate of Pomona College and the Breadloaf School of English. As we all know, spring break is upon us (or already here), and it’s the perfect time to catch up on our TBR (To-Be-Read) piles. I though ..read more

Jared’s Humanity: An Interview with in Which She Reveals that the Dear Martin Series Will Soon Be a Trilogy Literacy and Social Studies Teacher Instructional Leader (TIL) with Springfield Public Schools. She is also an adjunct professor in the Teacher Education Program and the Department of English and Modern Languages at University of Illinois Springfield.  She earned her Doctor of Education in literacy from Judson University in 2018. She is currently President of the Illinois Reading Council (IRC). Her research interests include urban education, social and emotional learning, young adul ..read more

Celebrating Walter Dean Myers by Julianna Kershen , Ed.D. is an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma’s Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education in the department of Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum’s English education program. She is a former NBCT high school English teacher. Julianna’s research focuses on how ambitious, affirming teaching leads to opportunities for youth and their teachers to engage in deep and meaningful learning. Her text studies center YA, war literature, and magical realism. My friend, colleague, and YA scholar, Dr. Crag Hill encouraged me to tr ..read more

A Discussion with Katherine Higgs-Coulthard, author of Junkyard Dogs , Ph.D., is a professor of reading and language arts in the Department of Education, Health, and Human Services at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. Her book, Engaging Teachers, Students, and Families in K–6 Writing Instruction: Developing Effective Flipped Writing Pedagogies , published by Routledge in 2020, details her K–6 writing methods course designed to support preservice teachers’ development of their teacher-writer voices and use of authentic writing instruction to support students’ writing development. She aims ..read more

Featured at the Summit: Federico Erebia, Jamie Jo Hoang, & Ari Tison At the 2023 NCTE conference, I meet   at a dinner party. We were seated across from each other and had a wonderful conversation. During the course of the conference and at the ALAN workshop I was able to chat will Federico a few more times. He was thrilled to be at the NCTE Convention, but I think even more enthralled with the total immersion into the world or Young Adult Literature at the ALAN Workshop. He is an new author, but he was attending as a way to learn more about this world. As we talked I mentio ..read more

Prof. Donna Gilton and her Dedication to Diversity by Padma Venkatraman is one of the "oldest" friends of the blog. We have written posts about her and her work and she has written posts Here are a few links that you should check out: Here is a link to a on Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday channel. https://youtu.be/iJM27qQizfU?si=AUPFuBjIlgyfwqlj Today she reminds us that there are many unsung heroes who have been pioneer work around multicultural literature. She celebrates the life of Donna Gilton. Sometimes, it’s easy to pinpoint precisely when a friendship began. With my writer-friend Elly Swart ..read more

It is great to have Mandy contributing to the blog. I was very fortunate to be a minor contributing member to her doctorial committee. She was at Arizona State University and I glad to join in as an outside member while at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Mandy did great work then and she continues to contribute to the field at Utah Valley University.  Keep up the good work Mandy. You have always been one of the cool kids. Identity and Acceptance in Jeff Zentner’s In the Wild Light ​When I began teaching Young Adult Literature at Utah Valley University, I wanted to select core texts t ..read more