My Amazing Time at ALA 2024

Written by Tonya Duncan Ellis

Magical, Memorable, Ah-Mazing! So many positive adjectives describe my first, and hopefully not my last, American Library Association Conference. It was three fun-filled days of networking, fangirling, and celebrating the love of books and literacy.

After a smooth, three-hour flight from Houston, I arrived in sunny, San Diego on Friday afternoon, checked into my hotel and then met up with a Ebony Lynn Mudd, a founder of the PB Rising Stars group that I’m a mentor in and other Black creatives for lunch. We were joined by Carole Boston Weatherford, Anne Wynter, Vera Ahiyya, Trenise Ferreira Sabin, Alana Tyson, K.E. Lewis, Seina Wedlick, Mychal Threets and Sade Smith. I’ve interacted with many of these talented folks online, and it was great to meet everyone in person.

Once we finished lunch, the conference hall was not completely open yet, but I was able to check in, pick up my badge, decorate it with personalized swag ribbons, and also stop by my publisher, HarperCollins’ booth. It was so cool to see my debut picture book, THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM, on display! I didn’t have a signing during the event, but was gifted copies by agent, Sara Megibow of kt Literary, to hand out to a few of the thousands of librarians in attendance.

That evening, it was off to the PB Rising Stars Welcome party, where we dressed as our favorite book characters from the past five years. Mine was Nell, from Anne Wynter’s award-wining book, NELL PLANTS A TREE. This was a great time getting acquainted with PB Rising Stars mentors and mentees, and the party started the conference off on a high note.

I passed on the after party at a karaoke bar, because I had to leave my hotel at 6:30 a.m. the next morning for a HarperCollins sponsored breakfast. Waking up was definitely worth it! I met new and old author friends and gave out copies of my books to attending librarians.

Afterwards, I headed to the conference hall and spent a fun afternoon bumping into writer friends, having books signed by my favorite authors, and filling my bag with advanced reader copies. A highlight was seeing my illustrator Jenin Mohammed and having our picture taken. I’m very grateful for the stunning illustrations she created for THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM. That afternoon I attended engaging sessions by bestselling, award winning author Kwame Alexander and Actress/Author Taraji P. Henson. I finished up Saturday evening with a fun dinner with the PB Rising Stars group.

Sunday morning’s Coretta Scott King breakfast was the highlight of the conference for me. The speeches from winners and honorees were so touching. The love and the camaraderie in the air was uplifting and inspiring. I floated back to my hotel afterwards.

The good feelings continued with a fun lunch with agents from kt Literary and the wonderful Newberry/Caldecott dinner that evening, where author/illustrator Vashti Harrison became the first Black woman to receive a Caldecott medal.

I left my fantastic ALA experience Monday morning with a suitcase stuffed with books and a heart filled with beautiful memories. Hope I can attend again next year!