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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Apologies for the multiple postings.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><o:p> </o:p></p><p>Click here if you are having trouble viewing this message: <a href="http://pull.msg-edu.com/p/5-ED59/96725728/html001-bit.ly-VHamiltonConf2012.html">http://bit.ly/VHamiltonConf2012</a> <o:p></o:p></p><h1><strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Celebrating Diversity: Sharing Our Stories</span></strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></h1><h2><em><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>28th Annual Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth</span></em><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></h2><p class=style1>We invite you to join us for the 28th <strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Annual Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth </span></strong>on Thursday, April 12, and Friday, April 13, 2012, at the Kent State University Student Center. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1>The conference provides a forum for discussion of multicultural themes and issues in literature for children and young adults. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1><em><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Celebrating Diversity: Sharing Our Stories</span></em> is the theme for the 2012 conference, which features the remarkable <strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Alma Flor Ada</span></strong>, the talented <strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Lisa Yee </span></strong>and the amazing illustrator <strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>E. B. Lewis</span></strong>. The incredible <b>Julius Lester</b> also will be honored at this year's event, but will not be in attendance.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1>The Virginia Hamilton Conference is pleased to bring together renowned national and local writers, illustrators, librarians, teachers, students and scholars and showcases some of the top talents in multicultural literature for youth. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1>Register now -- the conference reaches capacity quickly. Contact the Office of Continuing and Distance Education at 330-672-3100 or register online at <a href="http://pull.msg-edu.com/p/5-B105/96831938/html002-www.yourtrainingresource.com.html">http://www.yourtrainingresource.com</a> (Click Programs, Conferences/Education). <o:p></o:p></p><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><a href="http://pull.msg-edu.com/p/5-8682/96831982/html006-www.flipseekpubs.com.html" title="Virginia Hamilton 2012 Conference Program"><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=741 height=920 id="_x0000_i1029" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CD0061.AB3EF4F0" alt="Description: http://pull.msg-edu.com/p/0/96759933/vham-cover.jpg"></span></a><o:p></o:p></h1><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'> <o:p></o:p></h1><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'> <o:p></o:p></h1><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'> <o:p></o:p></h1><p class=style1>The April 12 evening program includes a keynote address by the 14th Annual Virginia Hamilton Literary Award winner, Alma Flor Ada, followed by a multicultural storytelling performance. April 13 features keynote addresses by E. B. Lewis and Lisa Yee. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1>The program also includes a variety of local and national speakers offering workshop sessions on such topics as The Orphan: A Cinderella Story From Greece; Negotiating Understanding Through the Young Literature of Muslim Culture; and The Religious Aspects in <em><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The People Could Fly</span></em> by Virginia Hamilton, and an update on recent multicultural literature, to name a few. The conference agenda for Friday includes a conversation session with the three featured presenters. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1>For more information and to register, visit one of the links below:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1><a href="http://pull.msg-edu.com/p/5-E8AA/96725067/html007-www.flipseekpubs.com.html" title="Virginia Hamilton 2012 Conference Program">Conference program </a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1><a href="http://pull.msg-edu.com/p/5-8B5E/96725780/html008-2012.html.html" title="Virginia Hamilton Conference Website">Conference Web site</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1>Follow us on Facebook (<a href="http://pull.msg-edu.com/p/5-1403/96831994/html009-VirginiaHamiltonConference.html" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaHamiltonConference</a>) and Twitter (<a href="http://pull.msg-edu.com/p/5-1B4E/96759905/html010-twitter.com.html">https://twitter.com/#!/VHamiltonConf</a>) for the latest updates.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=style1>Office of Continuing and Distance Education <br>Kent State University <br>P.O. Box 5190 <br>Kent, OH 44242-0001<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>