Children’s Literature Assembly Online Research Conference, February 20, 2026 ~ Student Participant

Children’s Literature Assembly Online Research Conference, February 20, 2026

Schedule: Welcome begins at 9:30 in the main Zoom Room; Sessions begin at 10:00 a.m. and closing remarks begin at 6:15 p.m.

Virtual Platform: Zoom link to be emailed out to registered participants the day before the conference.

Costs:

Participant: $30

Student Participant:$15

Keynote Speaker: Jonda McNair, The Ohio State University

Dr. Jonda C. McNair is the Charlotte S. Huck Endowed Professor of Children’s Literature at The Ohio State University. She specializes in literature intended for youth with an emphasis on books written by and about African Americans. She is a past chair of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee and was a member of the 2019 Randolph Caldecott Award Selection Committee. Dr. McNair served as chair of the 2021 John Newbery Award Selection Committee and as 2023-2024 President of the Association for Library Service to Children.

She is a former coeditor of the Journal of Children’s Literature and Language Arts. Her work has appeared in journals such as Review of Educational Research, The Reading Teacher, Language Arts, Young Children, The Journal of Negro Education, and Children's Literature in Education. Dr. McNair is a former elementary school teacher of students in grades K-2.

Program Description: Sponsored by the Children’s Literature Assembly and the Mary Frances Early College of Education, this conference will be of interest to researchers, faculty, graduate students, and teachers who work in the area of children’s literature and literacy education.

Registration Deadline: February 13, 2026

Cancellation Deadline and Refund Policy: February 6, 2026

All cancellations must be submitted via email to mbaer@uga.edu before the cancellation deadline in order to receive a full refund. Cancellations after the cancellation deadline are non-refundable. If cancellation is not made by the deadline, and you are not able to attend, you or your organization is still liable for payment.

Registration Transfer: If you have registered for an event but cannot attend, you may transfer your registration to another person. Simply email 48 hours before the event to mbaer@uga.edu with the registration information of the person who will attend.

Accessibility Statement: Please contact Melanie Baer, mbaer@uga.edu or Beth Massey, bmassey@uga.edu by January 23, 2026 to request any accessibility services for this event.

Payment Information

Paying by check: If you choose to pay by check by submitting a purchase order, the amount due will adjust to $0.00 because you haven't actually paid anything yet. We will send an official invoice by email showing the amount due and the address to mail payment so that you can submit for payment. Checks should be made payable to “UGA”.

Paying by UGA General Ledger Journal Entry: If you are a UGA faculty or staff member and are paying by departmental journal entry, the amount due will adjust to $0.00 because you haven't actually paid anything yet. Please enter the name, phone number and email address of the person responsible for the funds (chartstring) you are using to pay for the registration fee so we can work with them to make the journal entry. Registration will not be confirmed until we have this information.

Invoice procedure for everyone paying by check/PO or UGA Journal Entry: Invoices will be sent a few days after the registration is confirmed. When you successfully complete the registration process, you will receive two emails from Melanie Baer (mbaer@uga.edu). One to let you know the registration has been received and a second when it is confirmed. A few days later, you will receive an email from Lori Robbins (lori.robbins@uga.edu) including a copy of the official invoice and the payment address. Please don’t remit payment until you receive the email from Lori Robbins as sometimes checks are sent to the wrong UGA office by mistake. This process often takes up to 5 business days to complete.

Paying by credit card: Credit cards sometimes aren’t processed until a few days after you submit the registration in Marketplace. Please make sure the card number is correct, the billing zip code matches the billing address for the card and the card isn’t expired, or expiring in the next few days. If the credit card doesn’t go through for some reason, you will have to re-submit the registration.