“We also have our social imagination: the capacity to invent visions of what should be and what might be in our deficient society, in the streets where we live, in our schools.” –Maxine Greene (1995, p. 5)
The highlight of each year is the annual ALAN Workshop. At this gathering, you will meet with colleagues from across the country, receive copies of some of the best and latest young adult titles and hear from a host of young adult authors. The workshop is held each year in conjunction with the Annual Convention of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). We will converge in Philadelphia, PA this year. See you in……
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2026 ALAN Workshop
Young adult literature has been instrumental in expanding our collective imagination about youth–their lived experiences, their identities, and the roles they (could) play in society. In recent years, however, a resurgence of anti-immigrant, anti-Black, anti-Asian, and anti-LGBTQ sentiments, to name a few, alongside widespread censorship, has threatened the stories and practices that help us cultivate an all-embracing understanding of human experiences.
The 2026 ALAN Workshop theme, “Forging New Futures,” invites youth librarians, teachers, teacher educators, and researchers to dream up vibrant new futures with, for, and about young people. What YA books help readers (re)imagine who they can be in the world and what that world could look like? What paths can we forge to lead us to futures where educators and youth alike can thrive?
