CBC Ed. Talks Videos
CBC Ed Talks are quarterly educational virtual panels for CBC member publisher staff created by CBC committees that address important topics in the children’s book world. The videos below are available exclusively to CBC members. If you are a member and have forgotten the login, please email cbc.info@cbcbooks.org.
Not a member? Watch diversity award videos, children’s book read-alouds, awesome book trailers, authors & illustrators at work, and more on our YouTube channel.
2024 HOW TO MANGA
Join professionals within the manga community who share their knowledge and expertise about this exciting and growing genre. Learn more about manga for young readers, its use in libraries and schools, recurring themes within the genre, and what more to expect from manga in the future.
MODERATOR
Whitney Leopard — Executive Editor, Random House Brands and Graphic
PANELISTS
- Deb Aoki — Creator and Speaker, Mangasplaining podcast
- Emily Drew — Adult Materials Coordinator, BookOps
- Ajani Oloye — Content Director, Kodnansha USA Publishing
2023 LGBTQIA+ CHILDREN’S BOOKS AND THEIR CREATORS
Publishing professionals within the LGBTQIA+ community share their knowledge and expertise surrounding LGBTQIA+ representation in children’s books, as well as the most respectful ways to work with LGBTQIA+ creators.
MODERATOR
Antonio Gonzalez Cerna (he/him) — Marketing Director, Levine Querido
PANELISTS
- Benny Sisson (she/her) — Marketing Manager, University of Washington Press
- Irene Vázquez (they/them) — Associate Editor & Publicist, Levine Querido
- Kristopher Kam (he/him) — Associate Director of Publicity & DEI Strategy, Random House Children’s Books
- Naomi Davis (they/she) — Literary Agent, BookEnds Literary Agency
2023 KEEP BANS OFF OUR BOOKS
Join us for a special Banned Books Week discussion of the book-banning crisis from the front lines. You will hear from a First Amendment advocate, an author, a faculty leader, and a student activist about their inspiring work fighting against censorship.
MODERATOR
Pat Scales, author and free-speech advocate
PANELISTS
- Raj Haldar — Author, Rapper, Composer
- Jonathan Haupt — Executive Director, Pat Conroy Library Center and faculty leader of DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization)
- Millie Bennett — DAYLO student leader
2023 DIVERSITY COMMITTEE PANEL: A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE TERM LATINX
2023 LGBTQIA+ EXPERIENCES IN THE WORKPLACE
Publishing professionals within the LGBTQIA+ community will be sharing some of their experiences in the workplace. This program is aimed at continuing the conversation around diversity and inclusion in children’s publishing and filling in the gaps in areas we, as an industry, can work on in order to foster the safest workplaces possible for our LGBTQIA+ colleagues. Find the password-protected transcript here (coming soon).
MODERATOR
Antonio Gonzalez Cerna (he/him) — Marketing Director, Levine Querido
PANELISTS
- Benny Sisson (she/her) — Marketing Manager, University of Washington Press
- Camille Kellogg (she/her) — Children’s & YA Editor, Bloomsbury
- Colleen Bennett (she/her) — Senior Marketing Graphic Designer, Random House Children’s Books
- Kristopher Kam (he/him)— Assistant Director of Publicity, Random House Children’s Books
- Lucia Iannone (she/her)— Editorial Assistant, TOON / Astra BFYR
- Stephanie Guerdan (they/them, he/him, she/her) — Associate Editor, HarperCollins Children’s Books
2022 HOW TO SPEAK YA
Panelists will speak to the ever-changing dynamics of publishing for this diverse and opinionated age range. Panelists will be able to speak to all steps of the YA publishing process, from acquisition and editing to the promotion of a book. Find the password-protected transcript here (coming soon).
MODERATOR
Bess Braswell — Publishing Director, Inkyard Press
PANELISTS
- Isa Caban — Senior Marketing Manager, Tor Teen
- Emily Forney — Literary Agent, Bookends Literary Agency
- Karina Granda — Art Director, Little Brown Books for Young Readers
- Rebecca Kuss — Senior Editor, Disney Hyperion
- Stephanie Pando — Marketing and Publicity Associate, Candlewick Press
2022 DISABILITY AND NEURODIVERSITY IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS
2022 HOW TO SPEAK PRODUCTION
The panel discusses the ins and outs of children’s book production as well as how the production department collaborates with others to get books on the shelves. Find the password-protected transcript here.
MODERATOR
Angie Dombroski — Senior Production Manager at Candlewick
PANELISTS
- Jennifer Delaney — Production Director at Charlesbridge
- Scott Meyers — Production Manager at HarperCollins Children’s Books
- Nyamekye Waliyaya — Director of Production at Little, Brown BYR
2022 DISABILITY AND NEURODIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE
The panel is comprised of several disabled and neurodivergent publishing professionals who share issues they face in the children’s publishing world, and they help provide action steps to implement in your own work settings, helping all to work toward industry-wide positive change. Find the password-protected transcript here.
MODERATOR
Naomi Davis — Literary Agent, BookEnds Literary Agency
PANELISTS
- Madison Parrotta — Senior Editor, Includas Publishing
- Victoria Hendersen — Foreign Rights Assistant, New Leaf Literary and Media
- Kirsteen Navarro — Part-time Digital and Social Media Coordinator, P.S. Literary Agency
- Victoria Mallorga Hernández — Chief Organizer of Literature, ANTIFIL
- Natasha Razi — Writer & Editor, Razi Editorial
2021 HOW TO SPEAK TODDLER
The panel centers on the unique needs of baby and toddler readers with a focus on the multi-sensory experience and explores a creative range of formats, from board books to cloth, as well as a wide variety of interactive novelty books. Panelists share their experiences creating books that best engage these budding young readers.
MODERATOR
Liza Baker — Vice President and Publisher of Cartwheel Books and Orchard Books at Scholastic
PANELISTS
- Jennifer Delaney — Production Director, Charlesbridge
- Maria Elias — Art Director, Rise x Penguin Workshop
- Meredith Mundy — Editorial Director, Appleseed/ABRAMS
- Andrea Davis Pinkney — Author
2021 GRAPHIC NOVELS EARLY READERS
As the comics format continues to grow in sales, more and more publishers are bringing them to early readers. Brigid Alverson, Graphic Novel journalist for SLJ & PW, will moderate this Ed. Talk panel on the opportunities and challenges of publishing graphic novels for the early reader age range.
MODERATOR
Brigid Alverson — Graphic Novel journalist for School Library Journal & Publishers Weekly
PANELISTS
- Justin Colussy-Estes — Store Manager, Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, GA
- Phil Falco — Art Director, Scholastic Graphix
- Sarah Gaydos — Editor in Chief, Oni-Lion Forge Publishing
- Geoff Lapid — US Sales and Marketing Manager, Flying Eye
2021 HOW TO SPEAK COPY EDITOR
Disney Copy Chief, Guy Cunningham moderates a panel of copyediting professionals, some in-house and some freelance. The panel discusses topics like keeping up with ever-changing language, conscious language, hard deadlines in relation to other departments, and more.
MODERATOR
Guy Cunningham — Copy Chief, Disney Publishing
PANELISTS
- Anna Dobbin — Copy Editor and Proofreader, Freelance
- Debbie DeFord-Minerva — Copy Editor, Random House Children’s Books, Penguin Random House
- Hannah Mahoney — Copy Manager, Candlewick and Freelance
- Christine Ma — Copy Editor and Proofreader, Freelance
2021 TEEN TALKS
Antonio Gonzalez Cerna, Levine Querido’s marketing director and a panelist on our recent WHY YA? panel, leads four teens from around the country on a discussion about what they read, when they read, and why they read. The panel discusses trends in YA as seen through the eyes of teens, as well as ways they access books, covers they love, and more.
2021 WHY YA?
The CBC is proud to bring you insights into trends in YA, as seen through the eyes of editors and marketing and publicity folks, as well as discussion on how editorial, marketing, and publicity work together in different roles to support the ultimate success of YA books.
MODERATOR
Bess Braswell — Inkyard Press Publishing Director
PANELISTS
- Krestyna Lypen — Editor of Algonquin Young Readers
- Saraciea Fennell — Publicity Manager of Tor Books
- Antonio Gonzalez Cerna — Marketing Director of Levine Querido
2021 HOW TO SPEAK PUBLICIST
The CBC is proud to bring you insights into the publicity and marketing fields, including the challenges and successes they face in this new virtual era, how they work with the media, the differences between publicity and marketing, and ways in which their colleagues in other departments can interact with them and support their work in getting books into the hands of readers.
MODERATOR
Shifa Kapadwala — Scholastic Global Brand Publicity Manager
PANELISTS
- Faye Bi — Director of Publicity at Bloomsbury Children’s
- Geena El-Haj — Publicity & Marketing Coordinator at Mango Publishing
- Morgan Kane — Assistant Director of Publicity at Macmillan Children’s
- Jackson Ingram — Marketing Specialist at Andrews McMeel
2020 HOW TO SPEAK DESIGNER
The CBC Forum Committee is proud to bring you an inside look into How to Speak Designer. Disney Hyperion Creative Director, Joann Hill, moderates a panel of art directors and designers about how they work effectively with editors, marketing managers, and authors to illuminate the mind of a designer for non-designers. Panelists share examples of work-in-progress designs and discuss the challenges and joys of collaborating. An audience Q&A ends the program.
PANELISTS
- Dave Caplan — VP and Creative Director, Little Brown Books for Young Readers
- Mary Claire Cruz — Senior Designer, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Lucy Ruth Cummins — Executive Art Director, Simon & Schuster
- Donna Mark — Creative Director, Bloomsbury Children’s Books
- Sharismar Rodriguez — Senior Art Director, Macmillan Children’s Group (was unable to attend)
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