1. Planting the Seeds of Literacy SOMIRAC 2105 Conference April 15-17 Hunt Valley Inn Hunt Valley, MD

2. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Phyllis Hunter Its’ Not That Complicated! What I Know for Sure about Helping Our Children of Color Become Successful Readers Stephen Peters Do You Know Enough About Me to Teach Me?

3. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Barbara Wilson Struggling Readers and the Common Core Standards: What’s a Teacher to Do? Linda Hoyt Igniting a Sense of Wonder with Power Writes!

4. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Kelly Gallagher Writing Doug Fisher Close Reading of Complex Texts

5. FEATURED SPEAKERS  Janiel Wagstaff  Margo Southall  Debbie Pope  Jan Richardson  Rebecca Carranza  Kathy Baumgartner  Debra Couch  Barb Landridge  Sharon Zinke  Nikki Clausen-Grace  Peter Brunn  Tiffany Sears

6. See and hear authors of many of your popular classroom texts.

7. FEATURED AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS  Kathy Miller  Judy Young  Alan Sitomer  Ralph Masiello  Barry Louis Poliscar  Ralph Masiello  Susanne Gervay  Pamela Enherberg  Katherine Kenny  Debbie Levy  Mary Casanova  Nikki Grimes  Ard Hoyt  Frane Lessac/Mark Greenwood

8. Some Authors and Some of their Books Judy YoungDebbie Levy

9. Mary Casanova Alan Sitomer American Girl

10. Nikki Grimes

11. SPECIAL EVENTS Bosses’ Breakfast Books and Breakfast Storyteller’s Breakfast Author Signings Young Authors’ Celebrations Literacy Lottery Authors’ Night Ice Cream Social Mother/Daughter Tea with American Girl Author Mary Casanova

12. Wednesday, April 15, 2015 Hunt Valley Inn Hunt Valley, MD 5:30 – 7:30 Sponsored by the State of Maryland International Reading Association Council Mary Casanova, author of American Girl series, Jess, McKenna, and Chrissa will be the guest speaker and share her experiences writing for the popular series. Bring your favorite American Girl doll and join us for this exciting event! $30.00 pp. Dolls eat for free. MENU: 1 st setting: assorted scones 2 nd setting: tea sandwiches with turkey/cheese,, egg salad, and cucumber 3 rd setting: chocolate mousse with cookie For reservation information, contact Susan Frank at sfrank1236@gmail.com