Events and Appearances

Submit a Proposal to Host Jason Reynolds in 2021

Every Child a Reader is currently accepting proposal submissions from schools interested in hosting an event with Jason Reynolds, the 7th National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. If you are a bookstore, library, or other organization, please connect with a school or group of schools in your area to plan an event.

Reynolds will meet with students virtually* in small, underserved communities across the country during the second year of his two-year term to have meaningful discussions with young people. Through his platform, GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story, he will connect with, listen to, and empower students in these communities to share their own stories and start their journey as storytellers.

Each event will follow a basic format that allows for Jason to interact directly with students. We will work with selected locations to personalize/modify.

Important Criteria for Proposals:

• Audience for events should be in the 5th-12th grade range.
• For virtual events, the location must be able to ensure that a majority of the student population tune in to the event and have a virtual platform to support that size audience.
• The location should have a system in place for how they will select student interviewees in advance of the event.
• Jason’s goal for the Ambassadorship is to visit small, underserved communities that don’t often have the opportunity to host authors.
• Events must be private/available to students only.

Please complete this google form with your event proposal no later than Jan. 15, 2021.

* We continue to assess travel safety and will make adjustments to in-person events if possible in 2021

2021 National Ambassador Appearances

Future Event Dates TBD: Event TK

2020 National Ambassador Appearances

December 11: Virtual event with Red Cloud Schools (Pine Ridge, SD)

December 10: Virtual event with Sage Valley Junior High and Twin Spruce Junior High (Gillette, WY)

December 9: Virtual event with Stratton Elementary and Park Middle School (Beckley, WV)

December 8: Virtual event with Swansea Freshman Academy and Swansea High School (Swansea, SC)

December 4: Virtual event with JW Eater Junior High (Rantoul, IL)

December 3: Virtual event with Live Oak Middle School (Denham Springs, LA)

December 1: Virtual event with Leland Middle School and Leland High School (Leland, MS)

Spring/Summer: To connect with kids, Jason created a weekly video series and monthly newsletter.

January 16: Inauguration Ceremony at the Library of Congress. Watch it in full here.