Abilene Children’s Art and Literature Festival (CALF), June 2023

In June 2023, I was lucky to be the featured author of the 2023 Abilene CALF Festival—four days of activities based on my book characters, all through the city of Abilene, Texas! The Festival included book presentations and book-based art activities, art workshops, an exhibition of 75 of my illustrations which will tour the U.S. for the next three years—and a permanent bronze sculpture of Evan the fox in the Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden, alongside sculptures of characters from all of the previous featured authors. I’m deeply grateful to the folks at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature (NCCIL), Abilene Cultural Affairs Council, and the 7,000+ attendees who came out to celebrate children’s literature.