Workshop

Workshop

Forging New Futures- The 2026 ALAN Workshop

Monday, November 23rd-Tuesday, November 24th

The highlight of each year is the annual ALAN Workshop. At this gathering, you’ll meet with colleagues from across the country, receive copies of some of the best and most popular young adult titles, and get to hear from a host of young adult authors. The workshop is held each year in conjunction with the NCTE Annual Convention. The 2026 ALAN Workshop will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“We also have our social imagination: the capacity to invent visions of what should be and what might be in our deficient society, in the streets where we live, in our schools.”  –Maxine Greene (1995, p. 5)

Young adult literature has been instrumental in expanding our collective imagination about youth–their lived experiences, their identities, and the roles they (could) play in society. In recent years, however, a resurgence of anti-immigrant, anti-Black, anti-Asian, and anti-LGBTQ sentiments, to name a few, alongside widespread censorship, has threatened the stories and practices that help us cultivate an all-embracing understanding of human experiences. 

The 2026 ALAN Workshop theme, “Forging New Futures,” invites youth librarians, teachers, teacher educators, and researchers to dream up vibrant new futures with, for, and about young people. What YA books help readers (re)imagine who they can be in the world and what that world could look like? What paths can we forge to lead us to futures where educators and youth alike can thrive? 

We welcome poster presentation proposals focused on teaching, research, or youth programming on any topic related to YA literature and the ALAN 2026 theme, “Forging New Futures.” Consider topics such as, but not limited to:

  • Global YA literature
  • International exchanges and collaboration
  • Environmental, emotional, and mental health
  • YA literature and new technologies
  • Challenging censorship in and out of the classroom
  • Exploring cultures and languages as assets
  • Engaging difference and change as positive

We encourage submissions that feature a variety of YA genres and formats.

Continue to scroll for proposal format and guidelines.

ALAN 2026 Poster Presentation Proposal

Submission Deadline: March 31, 2026

Submission Form: Poster Presentation

2026 ALAN Theme: Forging New Futures

Poster Presentation Format

Poster session presenters populate boards with pictures, data, graphs, diagrams, and narrative text and informally discuss their poster with conference attendees during the presentation session. It is recommended to also include a take-home aspect of your poster attendees can access later (ex., QR code, handout, bookmark, etc.) 

We value books and presentations that feature authentic, diverse perspectives and insist that all poster sessions be interactive. 

Note: Since YA authors will be featured throughout the majority of the program, we are reserving the poster sessions for teachers, librarians, university educators, publishers, and others who are not YA authors.

Important Details:

All applicants must be members of ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English). You can join or renew your membership at http://www.alan-ya.org/join/. 

Submissions are due no later than midnight (EST) on March 31, 2026. and should be sent to: KaaVonia Hinton (khintonj@odu.edu) with the subject line “ALAN Poster Session Proposal.”

Please email submission as a Google document or a word document. Submissions will be blinded before committee review.

Please note that poster sessions may be about research, pedagogical activities, book studies, book reviews, etc. We are looking for all levels and professions within ALAN to be represented. Anything that would benefit ALAN attendees as connected to the ALAN 2026 theme is welcome. Additionally, the format of the poster is up to the author though it should be paper-based, not digital (see above for examples).

Poster Session Proposal Form

Submission Deadline: March 31, 2026

Submission form link: Poster Presentation

Proposed Poster Title:

Audience:

Corresponding Presenter’s Name & Email Address: 

*This person will be emailed and expected to share information with the other presenters. 

Names of all Presenters and Institutional Affiliations and Positions:

*Please note any potential first-time ALAN attendees

Email addresses:

 *Please be sure to include email addresses for all presenters.  

Description and purpose of poster session (500 words or fewer):

Specific texts you are highlighting in your session (if any):

Summary to be included in the program (50 words or fewer):

Description of how the poster session will be interactive (100 words or fewer):

Connection with this year’s workshop theme (100 words or fewer):
Positionality statement (Position yourself in relation to the content you are presenting. Why did you choose to present on this subject? How are you positioned in terms of the content you are presenting—your professional expertise and your identities [e.g., ability, gender, race, ethnicity, etc.]? What potential biases, assumptions, and values might inform your approach to this topic?) (100 words or fewer):

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