Author-speaker and writing-teacher event inquiries and invitations for Cynthia Leitich Smith should be directed to Carmen Oliver at The Booking Biz.
Cynthia is not available for events that discriminate against marginalized or underrepresented people, either on the page or off. Please read the WNDB definition of diversity.
Non-Native schools/venues with “Indian” mascots should include that information in their invitation. Carmen is available to discuss how hosts can feature Cynthia while supporting books by local Indigenous authors, tribal libraries, and thematically-relevant books like MASCOT by Charles Waters and Traci Sorell (Charlesbridge, 2023).
HarperChildren’s School & Library Librarian Preview at 1 p.m. CT Feb. 5. (Eight-minute presentation on LEGENDARY FRYBREAD DRIVE-IN (Heartdrum, 2025).)
Book Launch for UNDER THE SAME STARS, featuring author Libba Bray with moderator Cynthia Leitich Smith at 6 p.m. CT Feb. 7 at BookPeople in Austin.
12 x 12 Webinar “An Imprint Curator’s Perspective on Picture Books” at noon CT on Feb. 20.
RESERVED Osage County Interlocal Cooperative from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on March 5 in Osage County, OK (online). Coordinator: The Booking Biz.
Texas Library Association on April 1 to April 4 in Dallas, TX (9:30 April 3 “What’s new with Texas MG & YA authors?”) Coordinator: HarperChildren’s.
The Post Oak School, grades 4-6 (Bellaire, TX) at 10 a.m. April 8 (online). Coordinator: The Booking Biz.
Pacific Lutheran University on April 29 in Tacoma, WA. Coordinator: The Booking Biz.
Texas Book Festival’s Reading Rock Stars School Visits from May 7 (travel) to May 9th in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Franklin County Literature Festival on May 14 in Ottawa, KS. Coordinator: The Booking Biz.
We Need Diverse Books Native Children’s-YA Writing Intensive on June 12 to June 15 in Irving, TX.
RESERVED: June 10 to June 16 (CTA/Denver)
RESERVED: June 18 to June 24 (CTA/DC)
Simmons University Summer Children’s Literature Institute: “Are We There, Yet?” from July 25 to July 27 in Boston, MA. Coordinator: The Booking Biz.
RESERVED Aug. 6 to Aug. 11 (CTA/San Francisco)
National Indian Education Association from Oct. 7 to Oct. 9 in Spokane, WA (tentative). Coordinator: TBD.
The 2025 Spencer G. Shaw Lecture for the University of Washington’s Information School on Oct. 16 in Seattle, WA. Coordinator: The Booking Biz.
“Northern American Indigenous Picture Book Art: Past, Present & Future,” Eric Carle Museum, opens Jan. 6 (on display until June 6) in Amherst, MA
Native Children’s-YA Writing Intensive, Eric Carle Museum DATE(S) TBA in Amherst, MA
Cynthia Leitich Smith has been featured as a children’s-YA author and speaker at countless events, including the School Library Journal Day of Dialog, National Indian Education Association “Meet the Authors” Webinar, Publishers Weekly Book Show, Kweli: The Color of Children’s Literature Conference, the Eric Carle Museum, the National Women’s History Museum, the Texas Book Festival, the Tucson Festival of Books, the Gaithersburg Book Festival, the Los Angeles Times Book Festival, the National Book Festival, the Virginia Hamilton Conference, the ALAN Workshop, the Bank Street Book Festival, and the SCBWI Annual International Conference.
She has also presented at bookstores, schools, and public libraries—including the New York Public Library, Austin Public Library, and Chicago Public Library—as well as at universities and conferences hosted by organizations such as PBS Books, the American Booksellers Association (Children’s Institute), the Kansas Association of School Librarians, the Massachusetts School Library Association, the Texas Library Association, the Wisconsin State Reading Association, the American Library Association, the American Indian Library Association, the International Literacy Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs.
As a children’s-YA writing teacher, Cynthia has taught at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference, Highlights Foundation workshops in Pennsylvania, the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore, the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference in Utah, the Writing Barn in Austin, the Writers’ League of Texas Agents Conference, various SCBWI regional chapters, and more. She served on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults for nearly twenty years and currently serves as program director of the We Need Diverse Books Native Children’s-YA Writing Intensive.