If you’re attending the Illinois Library Association conference in Peoria, please join us for this ARRT-sponsored event — a book release party with librarian, Boot Riot Editor, and bestselling author Kelly Jensen as she launches (Don’t) Call me Crazy, an essay collection that explores, through essays, artwork, poetry, and other ephemera, the ways that mental illness impacts individuals, family and friends. This collection includes contributions from Victoria Schwab, Adam Silvera, Libba Bray, Esmé Wang, Yumi Sakugawa, Mike Jung, s.e. smith, Meredith Russo, and Stephanie Kuehn, and more. Kelly will be interviewed by Jez Layman live on stage. They will be discussing the book, how mental illness is portrayed in literature, how we help readers find inclusive titles, and much more. There will be time for questions from the audience. Kelly will sign copies of the book purchased at the event for you or your library.
A former librarian, Kelly Jensen has found passion for writing to teen audiences, as well as for those who work with them. She is an editor for Book Riot, where she runs the biweekly “What’s Up in YA?” young adult newsletter, the biweekly “Check Your Shelf” newsletter for librarians, cohosts the “Hey YA” podcast about young adult literature, and writes regular columns and other features about YA books and libraries. Her books include (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start The Conversation About Mental Health and Here We Are: Feminism For The Real World, both from Algonquin Young Readers. Here We Are earned rave reviews from The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, Teen Vogue, and more, and it was named an SLJ Best Book of 2017, as well as an official nomination for YALSA’s Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award. She’s also the author of It Happens: A Guide to Contemporary Realistic Fiction For The YA Reader, published with VOYA. When not writing or reading, Kelly teaches classical vinyasa-style yoga, as well as practices photography. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband, three cats, and rabbit.