Multnomah County Library chosen as the site of the 2025 Children’s Literature Lecture Award featuring Kyle Lukoff

CHICAGO - The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) announced that the 2025 Children’s Literature Lecture committee has chosen Multnomah County Library System, Portland, Oregon, as the site of the 2025 Children’s Literature Lecture featuring Kyle Lukoff.

The Multnomah County Library’s application impressed the selection committee with its enthusiasm about Lukoff’s body of work and its dedication to supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

“We at Multnomah County Library are so excited to host Kyle Lukoff,” said Sara Ryan, Teen Services Librarian. “His smart, warm, funny writing resonates with a wide range of readers, and his experience as a bookseller, librarian and frequently-challenged author gives him a unique perspective on the field of children’s literature. We’re eager to welcome him, and for the community to hear his insights.”

An announcement of the date and time of the lecture will be posted soon.

ALSC originally established the lecture series in 1969 as the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award with sponsorship from Scott, Foresman and Company. The lecture was named for May Hill Arbuthnot because of her significant contributions to the field of children’s literature. The award was renamed as the Children's Literature Lecture by the ALSC Board of Directors in January 2020. The purpose of the award remains the same: a lecture series that celebrates scholarship and critical thinking about literature for children, which are ever evolving. The new award name expands upon Arbuthnot’s professional legacy and celebrates the many voices and perspectives that all lecturers bring to this Award. In her own words, Arbuthnot was thrilled at the prospect of this award providing a forum for "new voices speak[ing] with new insight and new emphasis in the field of children's literature." Essentially, the Children's Literature Lecture Award centers on the distinction of its recipients, whose diverse voices and perspectives are necessary to broaden our understanding of and appreciation for children’s literature.

Members of the 2025 Children's Literature Lecture Award committee are: Chair Jenna Friebel, Oak Park Public Library, Illinois; Paris Kelvakis, Canton Public Library, Michigan; Ruth Tobar, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Janet Weber, Tigard Public Library, Oregon; and Lucinda Whitehurst, St. Christopher’s School, Richmond, Virginia.

ALSC, a division of the ALA, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 3,300 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit www.ala.org/alsc.