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<span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></div>
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<span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">SEPTEMBER 30, 2020</span></div>
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<span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">CONTACT:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><b style="font-style:inherit; font-variant-ligatures:inherit; font-variant-caps:inherit">Farrell Howe | Marketing & Communications Manager</b></span><br>
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<span style="font-size:12pt; line-height:normal; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">(269) 553-7879 | farrellh@kpl.gov</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt; line-height:normal; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><b style="line-height:normal">Registration is Open for the 2020 Kalamazoo Public Library Youth Literature Seminar<br>
Featuring Award-Winning Authors Candace Fleming, Varian Johnson & Paula Yoo</b></span></p>
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<font face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt; line-height:normal; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">Kalamazoo, MI, Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Registration is now open for the
</span></font><a href="http://www.kpl.gov/yls" title="www.kpl.gov/yls" style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-size:12pt; line-height:normal; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">2020 Kalamazoo Public Library Youth Literature
Seminar</span></a><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt; line-height:normal; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">. This year's event is free and will be held online on Friday, November 13, 2020, 8:30 am–3:30 pm. Registration is required.
Visit </span></font><a href="http://www.kpl.gov/yls" id="LPlnk" style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-size:12pt; line-height:normal; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">www.kpl.gov/yls</span></a><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt; line-height:normal; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"> to
learn more about the featured speakers, breakout sessions, schedule and to register to receive the link to attend. </span></font><br>
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<span style="font-size:12pt; line-height:normal; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><b style="line-height:normal">Seminar Topic: The Time is Now</b></span><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.6667px"><b><br>
</b></span></font><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.6667px"><b><br>
</b></span></font><font face="Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt; line-height:normal; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">The traumatic events that have occurred during most of 2020 have drawn many comparisons to similar
events in U.S. history. A pandemic, racism, political and civil unrest, and a floundering economy have not only caused many people to experience severe emotional and mental distress but have also torn open old scars for those who have survived similar events.</span></font></span></p>
<div style="font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt"><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">This year’s Youth Literature Seminar will focus not only on how our present echoes our past, but also how historical
trauma affects how we respond to current tragedies. Join us as we examine our past, its impact on our present and our future, and how books can help guide us through a process of healing, growth, and unity.</span><br>
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<span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><b>Featured Speakers: </b></span><b><br>
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<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><b><a href="https://www.candacefleming.com/about/press.html" title="https://www.candacefleming.com/about/press.html"><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">Candace Fleming</span></a></b><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><b>:
</b></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">is the versatile and acclaimed author of more than forty books for children and young adults, including the
</span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>Los Angeles Times</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"> Book Prize honored
</span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of the Russian Empire</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">;
</span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>Boston Globe</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">/Horn Book Award-winning biography,
</span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>The Lincolns</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">; the bestselling picture book,
</span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">; the Sibert-Award-winning
</span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>Giant Squi</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>d</i>; and the beloved
</span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>Boxes for Katje</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">. She contributed the chapter on Katharine of Aragon to
</span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>Fatal Throne</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">.</span></div>
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<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><b><a href="http://varianjohnson.com/bio/" title="http://varianjohnson.com/bio/"><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">Varian Johnson:</span></a></b><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">is
the author of nine novels, including </span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>The Parker Inheritance</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">, which was named a 2019 Coretta Scott
King Honor Book and a 2018 </span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>Boston Globe</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">-Horn Book Award Honor Book among other accolades. His
middle-grade caper novel, </span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>The Great Greene Heist</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">, has been named to over twenty-five state reading
and best-of lists. In addition, Varian has written for the </span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>Spirit Animals: Fall of the Beasts</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">
middle-grade fantasy series as well as novels and short stories for YA audiences.</span></div>
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<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><b><a href="https://paulayoo.com/about/" title="https://paulayoo.com/about/"><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">Paula Yoo:</span></a></b><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">is
the author of many published children’s books and YA novels. Her latest Young Adult narrative non-fiction book is </span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin
and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement. </i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">Her books have won many awards, including IRA Notables, Junior Guild Library Selections, and starred reviews from
<i>Kirkus</i>. Her debut YA novel </span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><i>Good Enough</i></span><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"> was one of the winners of the Asian Pacific American
Awards for Youth Literature.</span></div>
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<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><b>Additional speakers include</b> Ed Spicer, Cindy Dobrez, Lynn Rutan, Tiffany Goliday, John Kreider, Heather-Marie Montilla, Tasha Turner-Freeman, Jean Alicia
Elster, and Deborah Diesen. Visit </span><a href="http://www.kpl.gov/yls" id="LPlnk916924"><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">www.kpl.gov/yls</span></a><span style="font-size:12pt; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"> to
learn more about these speakers and the breakout sessions they are leading.</span></div>
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