Community Literacy Conference

Read about our 2023 Community Literacy Conference presenters here! We are thrilled to have them join us.

Katy Farber, Ed.D.

Katy Farber is an Assistant Professor of Education at Saint Michael’s College. She has over 25 years of education experience, including 19 years as a teacher, and four as a professional development coordinator at the University of Vermont’s Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education. Katy has authored or co-authored four books about education, including Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Might Stop the Exodus (Corwin Press); Real and Relevant: a guide to service and project-based learning (Rowman & Littlefield); Change the World with Service Learning (Rowman & Littlefield), and Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades (Harvard Education Press). She has also published a picture book called Salamander Sky (McSea Books), and a middle grade novel called The Order of the Trees.  Katy regularly writes for educational websites, presents at state and national conferences, and collaborates with teachers.

Daryl Seitchik

Daryl (she/they) is a cartoonist and teacher currently living in Vermont. She teaches comics workshops to children, teens, and adults at schools, libraries, and museums all throughout New England, and has enjoyed expanding her reach through virtual classes on Zoom. Daryl’s first graphic novel, EXITS (Koyama Press, 2016) was nominated for an Eisner Award. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Resist!, Inkbrick, The Lifted Brow, and many other publications. Her latest work includes How We Read: A Graphic Guide to Literacy, published by the Center for Cartoon Studies, and the comics collection, Now and Other Dreams, was released in 2022 from Fieldmouse Press.

Dan Nott

Dan Nott (he/him) is a cartoonist, illustrator, and educator living in Vermont. He is the author Hidden Systems, out March 2023 from Random House Graphic. Dan graduated from the Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) and was the lead writer and cartoonist This Is What Democracy Looks Like, as well a comic about civics and democracy in Vermont called Freedom and Unity. Dan teaches MFA classes on comics at CCS. 

Lester L. Laminack

Lester Laminack, Professor Emeritus, Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina is now a full-time writer and consultant working with schools throughout the United States and abroad. He is the author of over 25 books for teachers and children. His academic publications include Climb Inside a Poem (Heinemann), Cracking Open the Author’s Craft (Scholastic), Bullying Hurts: Teaching Kindness Through Read Aloud and Guided Conversations (Heinemann), The Writing Teacher’s Troubleshooting Guide (Heinemann), Writers ARE Readers: Flipping Reading Strategies into Writing Instruction (Heinemann), The Ultimate Read Aloud Collection Fiction and Nonfiction (Scholastic), Reading to Make a Difference (Heinemann), and The Ultimate Read Aloud Resource 2^nd Edition (Scholastic).

Lester is also the author of several children’s books including: The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins, Trevor’s Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth, Saturdays and Tea Cakes, Jake’s 100^th Day of School, Snow Day!, Three Hens and a Peacock  (2012 Children’s Choice K-2 Book of the Year Award), and The King of Bees, and A Cat Like That is expected in Summer 2024. All published by Peachtree Publishers.

His newest work, Three Hens, a Peacock, and the Enormous Egg (Peachtree) and Critical Comprehension: Lessons for Guiding Students to Deeper Meaning (Corwin) are available now. 

Lester is available for professional development and school author visits. You can contact him via his website www.LesterLaminack.com and follow him on Facebook or on Twitter @Lester_Laminack