Leonard S. Marcus

The talk, based on the fantasy-literature dimensions of his latest book, Minders of Make-Believe, will be held in Konover Auditorium with a reception and book signing to follow. Published by Houghton Mifflin in 2008, Marcus’s Minders of Make-Believe is “. . . an animated first-time history of the ... (more)visionaries - editors, authors, librarians, booksellers, and others - whose passion for books has transformed American childhood and American culture.” Writing about the relationship between fantasy literature and the experience of war, Marcus explains, “So many of the fantasy writers I interviewed . . . felt they were writing about the war they themselves had experienced, or else that they wrote fantasy because of the impact of remembered wars on their view of life. And it seems me that it was the experience of modern warfare, which so discredited the myth of science- and industry-driven progress, which helped to consolidate the readership for writers from Tolkien and Lewis to Madeleine L'Engle.”

Leonard Marcus is one the field’s most respected authors and speakers. His recent children’s books include Oscar: The Big Adventure of a Little Sock Monkey, co-authored and illustrated by his wife Amy Schwartz, and Pass It Down: Five Picture-Book Families Make Their Mark. Marcus also writes as a historian of the genre and has published books on Margaret Wise Brown, Ursula Nordstrom, and Golden Books. He holds degrees in history from Yale and poetry from the University of Iowa Graduate Writers' Workshop. In 2007, Leonard was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Bank Street College of Education.

This talk is a presentation of the Northeast Children's Literature Collection in conjunction with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and is free and open to the public.

Children’s book historian, critic, and author, Marcus's "Minders of Make-Believe" is the first-ever history of American children's book publishing from colonial times to Harry Potter. Leonard takes his audience behind the scenes to meet the editors, publishers, critics, and other tastemakers who have ... (more)decided what American children could and should read. Alongside a slide presentation, Leonard discusses the highlights from the 14 years of scholarly research that helped shape his landmark history of the children's book field in America. New York Times Book Review, Editor's Choice.

RSVP: CTCB@nl.edu. Seating will be limited. Thank you for respecting our scent-free environment.

The author discusses and signs his book. 202-364-1919.