Join us for the annual New England Teen Summit, a free, virtual event open to library staff across New England, focused on empowering teen services in libraries. We are thrilled to have author Josh Galarza as our keynote speakers to kick off the event.

About Josh Galarza

Longtime Montessori educator Josh Galarza writes fiction and creative nonfiction and is a multidisciplinary visual artist specializing in printmaking and book arts. His research centers male gender performance, queer issues, body liberation, and Chicano issues. His debut novel, The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky (Henry Holt & Company), was a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. His next young adult novel, False Face!, is forthcoming from Henry Holt & Company.

Galarza holds an MFA in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he taught creative writing, and a BA in English and BFA in art from the University of Nevada, Reno, where he taught printmaking. He is currently on faculty in the Creative Writing & Literature for Educators MA program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He lives in Northern Nevada.

Event Highlights:

• Virtual and Free: Attend from anywhere in New England.
• Author Keynote: Hear from Josh Galarza, a nominee for the MA Teen Choice Book Award, RI Teen Book Award, and VT Green Mountain Book Award.
• Recorded Sessions: All presentations will be recorded and available for later viewing.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with fellow library staff and gain valuable tools to enhance teen services in your library.

Audience: Public and school librarians serving tweens and teens, graduate students enrolled in a library science program with an interest in tween and teen services, state library agency staff.

The Teen Summit is coordinated by the New England Collaborative, a partnership between the Connecticut State Library, Maine State Library, Massachusetts Library System, New Hampshire State Library, Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services, and Vermont Department of Libraries.