Spend the afternoon with three different authors: Leah Johnson (1:00), K. Ancrum (2:00), and Julian Winters (3:00). Learn from the authors about their process, their books, and their thoughts on banning books. This program will kick off a series of programs centering around intellectual freedom, because Dayton Metro Library, now a Book Sanctuary, is proud to announce that all books are Free to Belong at our Library!

Leah Johnson is an eternal midwesterner and author of award-winning books for children and young adults. Her bestselling debut YA novel, You Should See Me in a Crown, was a Stonewall Honor Book, and the inaugural Reese’s Book Club YA pick. In 2021, TIME named You Should See Me in a Crown one of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Leah’s essays and cultural criticism can be found in Teen Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan among others. Her debut middle grade, Ellie Engle Saves Herself is forthcoming from Disney-Hyperion in May 2023.

K. Ancrum is the author of the award winning thrillers, notably THE WICKER KING and most recently LETHAL LIT:MURDER OF CROWS. K. is a Chicago native passionate about diversity and representation in young adult fiction. She currently writes most of her work in the lush gardens of the Chicago Art Institute.

Julian Winters is the author of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Award-winning Running With Lions; the Junior Library Guild Selections How to Be Remy Cameron and The Summer of Everything; and the multi-star reviewed Right Where I Left You and As You Walk On By. A self-proclaimed comic book geek, Julian currently lives outside of Atlanta. He can usually be found swooning over rom-coms or watching the only two sports he can follow—volleyball and soccer.