Fresh off her second (!!) Newbery Medal win for her middle grade novel The First State of Being, Erin Entrada Kelly opens her keynote with remembering how she's been coming to SCBWI conferences since before she was published, as an aspiring author illustrator "desperate" to find an agent. And now she's delivering the opening keynoting to this conference - a "full circle" moment!
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| Erin Entrada Kelly |
Erin shares about her recent harrowing, emotional experience of being diagnosed and going through treatment for cancer. She speaks of the support she received, and reflects on how
"sometimes we have to show ourselves grace, sometimes we have to change the narratives we tell ourselves about ourselves"
Erin opens up, telling us her reaction to the word 'brave' that people applied to her. "Did I feel brave? No, I felt like a woman enduring."
What it means to be brave is the through-line of her talk.
She tells us about her upcoming nonfiction book, At Last She Stood.
And how she was editing that book during her treatment. It's about Joey Guerrero, a Filipino woman, diagnosed with leprosy, who worked as a spy for the allies during WWII. She delivered a map (taped to her back) by walking 40-60 miles through the jungle to enabld the Filipine and US armed forces to liberate an internment camp in Manila and free the prisoners there. How did she get past the checkpoints? She showed her leprosy scars and the soldiers were too afraid to search her. She even went with the soliders to free the prisoners!
Maybe bravery comes in different shapes and sizes, Erin reflects, and that's "extra-large." That's what she thinks of when she thinks of bravery.
Erin tells us stories being in high school where she wasn't brave. When she didn't risk trying out for debate, when she didn't stand up for a kid being teased, when she went along when a friend was ousted from their group.
"I think about these things, these things I can't forget. I give myself forgiveness, now as an adult... I often think about the ways I let myself down as a kid... and I believe it's one of the reasons I write for young people... because we're trying to heal a part of ourselves when we were young"
She talks about the bravery in this room:
we're all here with the hope to tell stories to young people - not without fear, but despite fear.
"There are many, many ways you can fail... you can be rejected... but if you're here, that means you have faith in yourself. You're betting on yourself."
And even if you're already published, "you're here because you're not finished. "
Erin tells us that "tomorrow, I'm going to an illustration workshop, because I have a dream that one day I'll be able to illustrate my own picture book."
She acknowledges that "the world is on fire, literally and figuratively... and yet, here we are together, all dreaming."
"It's important for us to protect our sacred creative spaces."
"We have a privilege of being here."
"We are here to create and be inspired."
"We want to connect with young readers, make them feel seen, feel safe."
"If your book has made child laugh, you have accomplished something."
Erin tells us that researchers at Cornell looked into people's biggest regrets at the end of their lives. 76% said that their single biggest regret in life was not following their dreams.
Another study looked at what people regretted most: trying and failing or not trying at all? The vast majority said they regretted not trying at all.
And here we all are, following our dreams.
all of us together...
And Erin tells us, "that's brave."
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The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly,
winner of the 2025 Newbery Medal |
Erin ends her keynote with a wish for us - that we remember that by being here, we are betting on ourselves, and that is deeply meaningful.
And an appreciative audience gives Erin a standing ovation!
