The Ezra Jack Keats Lecture

Dr. Jeannine Laughlin-Porter assumed the directorship of the CBF in 1980. That was the year Ezra Jack Keats, internationally acclaimed author and illustrator for children, was invited to accept the USM Medallion. Following his visit, Keats became one of the strongest supporters of the Children’s Book Festival and the de Grummond Collection. Since his death, the University has acquired his personal and professional papers, original artwork, typescripts, and dummies and preliminary sketches for thirty-six of his books. The materials are now housed in the de Grummond Collection.

In 1985, the Keats Foundation established an Ezra Jack Keats lectureship, with Barbara Cooney as the artist honoree and Brian Alderson as the first Keats lecturer. In years since, the lecture has become a highly regarded feature of the festival. Children’s Authors Speak, a collection of speeches compiled by Dr. Laughlin-Porter and Sherry Laughlin, was published in 1993 and includes a number of Keats lectures, as well as speeches by USM Medallion honorees.

Ezra Jack Keats lecturers have included Richard Peck, Anita Moss, Anita Silvey, Barbara Elleman, Selma Lanes, Leonard Marcus, Robert Lipsyte and Brian Alderson.