Boston Book Festival 2019

In her acceptance speech for the 2018 Newbery Medal for her novel Hello, Universe, Erin Entrada Kelly recalled her loneliness and anxiety, growing up as one of the only Filipina children in her town. She remembered that she used to lie in bed at night, wondering about all the people in the world whom she might never meet but who could, perhaps be her friends. And then she would remind herself: “But that’s why we have books, isn’t it? So we can meet those people. Walk in their shoes. See our reflections. So we can discover that we never struggle alone.” We are thrilled to welcome Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly as this year’s BBF Kids’ Keynote. She’ll talk with host, educator and literary activist Kim Parker, about her new book Lalani of the Distant Sea, Kelly’s first foray into fantasy literature and richly informed by Filipino folktales. Kelly combines her profound talents for empathy and character development with depictions of a mysterious, magical world full of threats and promises alike. Set sail on a quest unlike any you’ve encountered before, and come with your questions for Erin Entrada Kelly about reading, writing, and finding friends in the books we read.