View photos of the 2024 EJK Award Winners and Honors PLUS an amazing group of today’s most important writers and illustrators, including, James Ransome, Jason Chin, Chris Raschka, Lesa Cline-Ransome, Melissa Iwai, and Cynthia Leitich Smith. The Kaigler Children’s Book Festival is known for attracting this caliber of talent every year. (scroll down for captions)
Photo Credit: Kelly Dunn, University of Southern Mississippi (USM)
Photo Captions (left to right)
- Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez, 2024 EJK Award Honor, Illustrator, Sarah Gonzales, 2024 EJK Award Winner, Illustrator, Anne Wynter, 2024 EJK Award Winner, Writer, Kim Rogers, 2024 EJK Award Honor, Writer
- Shannan Hicks, 2024 Chair, EJK Award Committee/Librarian
- Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez, Sarah Gonzales, Chris Raschka, Author/Illustrator/2024 EJK Award Committee, Jason Chin, Author/Illustrator, Melissa Iwai, Author/Illustrator/2024 EJK Award Committee
- Karlie Herndon, Curator, de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection, University of Southern Mississippi (USM)
- Deborah Pope, Executive Director, Ezra Jack Keats Foundation (EJK Foundation)
- Jason Chin
- Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author
- Ellen Ruffin, 2025 EJK Award Chair/Curator Emeritus, de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection, USM, Professor John Eye, Dean of University Libraries, USM
- James Ransome, Author/Illustrator
- Stacy Creel, Director, School of Library and Information Science, Juana Martinez-Neal Author/Illustrator/2020 EJK Award Honor, Illustrator
- Diana Vozza, Associate Executive Director, EJK Foundation
- Liz Kleinrock, Author/Educator, Teach and Transform
- Rebecca Pope-Brooks, EJK Foundation, Sarah Mangrum, Assistant Teaching Professor of Library and Information Science, USM, Jocelyn McCarthy, Director of Media and PR, EJK Foundation
- Karlie Herndon, Claire Thompson, retired EJK Coordinator, USM, Lorraine Stuart, Head of Special Collections/Curator of Historical Manuscripts & Archives/Professor, USM
- Cynthia Leitich Smith, Author/Illustrator, Dr. Joe Paul, President, USM
- Anne Wynter, Sarah Gonzales
- Shannan Hicks, James Ransome
- Group Photo:
Back row: Marge Sauls, de Grummond Collection Specialist, USM, Karlie Herndon, Sam Bloom, 2024 EJK Award Committee/Librarian, Chris Raschka, Author/Illustrator/2024 EJK Award Committee, Jason Chin
Middle Row: Deborah Taylor, 2024 EJK Award Committee/former Chair/Librarian, Rita Auerbach, 2024 EJK Award Committee/former Chair/Librarian, Melissa Iwai, Author Illustrator/2024 EJK Award Committee
Front Row: Shannan Hicks, Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez, Sarah Gonzales, Anne Wynter, Kim Rogers, Deborah Pope