​Growing up on a small farm near Yellow Springs, Ohio, in the 1940s, Virginia Hamilton was lovingly embraced by the sights, sounds and smells of rural America, and by a big extended family of cousins, uncles, and aunts. All these things would come into play in the children’s stories Hamilton would spin as an adult. Likely the biggest influence on Virginia Hamilton — whom Entertainment Weekly has called "a majestic presence in children’s literature" — was the fact that her own parents were storytellers. And what stories they told!  read more

With this year’s Conference postponed, the Arnold Adoff Poetry Committee has decided to announce the 2020 awards and honor the poets virtually. Please join us in congratulating the recipients as we continue to celebrate diverse poets and poetry.

Because of the ongoing spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the associated closure of the Kent State campus, the 2020 Virginia Hamilton Conference, originally scheduled for April 30, has been cancelled. The new date for the 35th Virginia Hamilton Conference is April 29, 2021.