35th Virginia Hamilton Conference
April 28, 2023
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Conference location: the 400 Janik Dr, Kent, OH 44243
35th Virginia Hamilton Conference Schedule
2023 Featured Speakers
The Emmy-Award Winning Creators, Writer, Director and Producers of Reading Rainbow
Larry & Cecily Lancit
Larry & Cecily Lancit are not only partners in marriage, life, and the television industry, they are also the dynamic duo who co-created and produced the PBS series Reading Rainbow, an EMMY AWARD winning American educational children's television series that encouraged children to check out books from their local library and read. Reading Rainbow originally aired on PBS and afterwards on PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to Nov. 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until Aug. 28, 2009. During this time, it was the most used program in American elementary schools. In its 21-seasons, Reading Rainbow won 16 National Daytime Emmy Awards, including seven Emmys for Best Children’s Series. Anyone not familiar with Reading Rainbow just needs to watch one episode of the popular children’s television show to understand the impact it had on libraries and their surrounding communities. Nowadays, the husband and wife team operate Paradise Coast TV, an independent television production company based in Naples, Florida and the Paradise Coast TV Visitor Channel. They have recently completed a documentary, Blues on Beale, highlighting the 36th Annual International Blues Competition in Memphis, and they are now moving their focus to work to support mental health and recovery institutions, pulling back the curtain to help resolve stigma from drug addiction and mental/emotional disorders. Both Larry and Cecily are also lead personalities in the feature documentary, Butterfly in the Sky, a chronicle of the history and impact of Reading Rainbow over its 23-year presence on PBS. The documentary recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
Award-Winning Illustrator
April W Harrison
"I have dreamed of becoming an illustrator since I began my artistic journey in 1997.
I thought it would be wonderful to see faces like mine on everything from books to bedspreads and everything in between!
But no matter how many times I submitted my portfolio to the different publishing houses, I was turned down. I decided that God had other plans for me so I placed “illustration” on the back burner and concentrated on my fine art career. In 2016, I was approached by Schwartz and Wade, an imprint of Penguin Random House about possibly illustrating a children’s picture book. I jumped at the opportunity ! But wait a minute, there was a catch! In order to be selected for this opportunity, I had to do one fully executed page of the book so that they could determine if it was the right “feel” Let’s just say the rest is history, I got the job and my first illustrated book, ”What Is Given From The Heart” by Patricia McKissack went on to win the 2020 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award for New Illustrator . I have learned from this experience that “delay” does not mean “denial” it’s all about God’s timing for your life and I feel that He saved the best for last."
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