UCM Celebrates 57th Annual Children’s Literature Festival

Author Roland Smith calls on a student during his presentation at the 2025 Children’s Literature Festival at UCM.
Smith will be the Gilbert-Sadler Speaker at the 2026 event.

 

The University of Central Missouri (UCM) will celebrate the 57th annual Children’s Literature Festival March 8-10, welcoming 25 nationally recognized authors and illustrators to its Warrensburg campus.

The festival kicks off with a luncheon featuring visiting authors and illustrators at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8, in the Elliott Student Union. This year’s Gilbert-Sadler Speaker is Roland Smith, who will be celebrating his 25th invitation to the festival. Smith previously enjoyed a 20-year career as a zookeeper in the Pacific Northwest, and his adventure-filled books blend action, nature, science, survival and mystery.

 

“Everyone loves Roland! His presentations are terrifically popular and help our young attendees understand that their everyday lives can inspire them to be writers,” said Maya Kucij, assistant dean of the James C. Kirkpatrick Library and festival director.

Festival programming continues Monday and Tuesday, March 9-10, with authors and illustrators presenting at locations across campus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sessions are designed for students in grades 3-10; registration is required. Book sales will be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. both days in the Elliott Student Union Ballroom.

New this year, the UCM community will have the opportunity to view the powerful documentary “The Librarians,” which follows librarians across Texas, Florida, Louisiana and other U.S. states as they confront a surge of book bans and censorship efforts. The film screening is co-sponsored by UCM’s Department of Educational Technology and Library Science and UCM’s campus affiliate of the American Democracy Project. Screenings will be at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, at the Union Cinema, and at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8, in the Union Auditorium. The showings are free and open to the public.

The 2026 Children’s Literature Festival is supported in part by a grant from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

The Children’s Literature Festival has a long and proud history at UCM, bringing students in grades 3-10 to campus to hear and meet nationally recognized children’s authors and illustrators. The festival is the longest-running children’s literature festival in the United States, dating back to 1969 when Philip Sadler, professor of children’s literature, and Ophelia Gilbert, laboratory school librarian, invited five Missouri authors to campus. Students from Central Elementary School (Campus Laboratory School) heard the authors speak about their experiences and had their books autographed. The following year, 13 authors participated, and the festival has grown steadily in both the number of presenters and student attendance.

For more information, visit clf.ucmo.edu or contact Kucij at kucij@ucmo.edu or 660-543-4306.