OCTOBER 1-3, 2026
KANSAS CITY, MO
FEATURING
CECE BELL • MATHEW BURGESS
CÁTIA CHIEN • NINA CREWS
TAYLOR NORMAN • SHAWN HARRIS
MARK ALAN STAMATY
FEATURING
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1
DINNER & OPENING RECEPTION
GREEN DIRT ON OAK · 1601 OAK STREET KANSAS CITY, MO 64108
The weekend kicks off with a ticketed reception and dinner with all of our presenters at Green Dirt on Oak. Tickets for this 21+ event include a delicious meal and a chance to mingle with some of the finest children’s book creators of our time (along with a few fun surprises!) A cash bar will be available.
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Every ticket sold supports the festival and The Rabbit hOle’s ongoing mission to strengthen the culture of reading.
6:00 - 8:00 PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2
KIDS DAY
FOR CLASSROOM AND FAMILIES
THE RABBIT HOLE • 919 E 14th AVE, N KANSAS CITY, MO 64116
An exclusive field trip opportunity for grades 1-6, featuring presentations and workshops from some of the most inspiring voices in children’s literature. Both classrooms and families are welcome to join us. Each classroom and family group will participate in two presentations during their visit. Space and registrations are limited, so don’t delay!
MORNING SESSION
1st - 3rd grade
9:00 - 11:30 AM
AFTERNOON SESSION
4th - 6th grade
12:00 - 2:30 PM
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2
FESTIVAL BOOK SIGNING
& MEET AND GREET WITH ALL THE PRESENTERS!
THE RABBIT HOLE • 919 E 14th AVE. N KANSAS CITY, MO 64116
Meet the people behind your favorite books! Lucky Rabbit Books will host a free public book signing at the museum featuring all of the festival’s presenters. Presenters’ books will be available for purchase at the event. There is no limit on the number of books purchased and signed. However, books from home are not permitted.
4:30 - 6:00 PM
There is no charge for attending the book signing, but we ask that you please RSVP!
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3
ADULT CONFERENCE DAY
PRESENTED BY THE RABBIT HOLE AT
NATIONAL WWI MUSEUM & MEMORIAL • 2 MEMORIAL DRIVE, KCMO 64108
The Adult Conference Day features back-to-back sessions from all of our festival presenters tailored to educators, writers, artists, parents and book-lovers of all stripes.
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The conference is for ages 18+ and will take place at the J.C. Nichols Auditorium at the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
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Tickets are available for full or half-day sessions with the option to add on lunch.
MORNING SESSION
9:00 - 11:30 AM
AFTERNOON SESSION
12:30 - 3:00 PM
9:00 Welcome / opening remarks
9:15 Nina Crews
10:00 Mark Alan Stamaty
10:45 Cece Bell
11:30 Lunch
12:30 Matthew Burgess
1:15 Taylor Norman (in-person)
with Shawn Harris (livestream)
2:00 Cátia Chien
3:00 Book signing
BIO
Cece Bell an award-winning author, cartoonist and illustrator. She has created many beloved children’s books including the Rabbit and Robot stories, the Sock Monkey series, Itty Bitty, and the graphic novel memoir, El Deafo, which won the 2015 Newbery Honor and the Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids. She is also a two-time Geisel Award honoree. Bell’s illustrations have appeared in many adult publications, including The Atlantic Magazine, Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times. She lives in Richmond, VA.
WEBSITE
BIO
Matthew Burgess is a poet, an educator, and the author of many celebrated picture books, including Fireworks, Words With Wings and Magic Things, and Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring. Matthew is an award-winning writer, receiving a Charlotte Zolotow Honor and a Golden Kite Honor for Fireworks. His poetry collection, Words With Wings and Magic Things, was named an 2026 ALA Notable Children’s Book in the All Ages category. An Associate Professor at Brooklyn College, Matthew lives in New York City and Berlin.
WEBSITE
BIO
Cátia Chien is an illustrator, and internationally-exhibited painter. She is the illustrator of numerous picture books including The Longest Letsgoboy, The Bear and the Moon, The Boy and a Jaguar, and Fireworks for which she won the 2026 Caldecott Medal and New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Award. She is a two-time Society of Illustrators Gold Medal recipient for Original Art. In 2020, Chien co-founded A Thousand Worlds, a free, evolving intersectional bookshelf of BIPOC creators’ picture books curated by BIPOC leaders in the industry. She lives in Oakland, California.
WEBSITE
BIO
Nina Crews is an acclaimed children’s book creator author and illustrator known for her distinctive photocollage style. Her picture books include One Hot Summer Day, The Neighborhood Mother Goose, I'm Not Small, and Liftoff: How the Apollo Moon Missions Made Alma Thomas's Art Soar. Nina has been honored by the ALA Notable Committee, The Black Caucus of the ALA, Kirkus Reviews, the Junior Library Guild, and recently won the 2023 New York State Library Association’s Empire State Award for her entire body of work. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
WEBSITE
BIO
Shawn Harris is an author, illustrator and musician. He has created many books for kids including Let’s Be Bees, The New York Times best-selling The First Cat in Space series, created with Mac Barnett, Teeny-Weeny Unicorn, Have You Ever Seen a Flower, a Caldecott Honoree, and The Polar Bear in the Snow which was awarded Bull-Bransom Award by the National Museum of Wildlife Art. He also illustrated the Newbery Award-winning book The Eyes & the Impossible, written by Dave Eggers. He lives in Half Moon Bay, California.
WEBSITE
BIO
Taylor Norman is the editorial director of Neal Porter Books. She publishes picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, and graphic novels. Some of her projects include Newberry Medal Winner, The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers, Caldecott Honoree, Have You Ever Seen a Flower? by Shawn Harris, Pura Belpré Honoree The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel, and the Lowriders graphic novel series by Cathy Camper and Raúl the Third. Taylor was the 2024 Publishers Weekly Star Watch Superstar. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
WEBSITE
BIO
Mark Alan Stamaty is an internationally acclaimed cartoonist, illustrator and children’s book author. He has published several acclaimed books for young people including the cult classic Who Needs Donuts?, Alia’s Mission, Too Many Time Machines, and Yellow Yellow, written by Frank Asch. His weekly comics for The Village Voice (1978-80) were collected in MacDoodle St. Mark has created illustrations for both the covers and inner pages of many esteemed publications including The New Yorker, the New Republic, the Washington Post Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine. Mark lives in New York City.