Andrea Davis Pinkney, a bestselling and award-winning author of books for children and young adults, will speak Thursday, July 18, at Longwood University.

Pinkney will be the keynote speaker for the banquet for the 10th Annual Summer Literacy Institute, which will be held in Blackwell Ballroom beginning at 5 p.m. One doesn’t have to be an Institute participant to attend the banquet, for which the cost is $40. Registration information is available at http://www.longwood.edu/cehs/Summer_Literacy_Institute.htm. The deadline to register for the banquet is July 8.

Pinkney’s work includes picture books, novels and works of historical fiction and nonfiction. Many of her books are geared to children and display pride in African-American culture and its achievements.

Her book Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America was selected May 31 as one of two Nonfiction Honor books in the 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book awards, among the most prestigious honors in the field of children’s and young adult literature. The book, published in October 2012 and illustrated by her husband and frequent collaborator, Brian, also is the recipient of the 2013 Coretta Scott King Author Award and was a New York Times Notable Book.

Several of Pinkney’s other books also have won awards. She was named one of the "25 Most Influential Black Women in Business" by the Network Journal and was selected one of the "25 Most Influential People in Our Children’s Lives" by Children’s Health Magazine.

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