The 2019 Effie Lee Morris Lecture Series Celebrates Women Writers
Join the San Francisco Public Library Main Children’s Center this fall as we present two lectures celebrating the voices of two gifted female authors and honoring the work of Effie Lee Morris (1921 – 2009), the first coordinator of children’s services at SFPL.
Ms. Morris, a tireless champion for diversity in children’s literature and in children’s lives, was the first African-American president of the Public Library Association, and a co-founder of the SF chapter of the Women’s National Book Association.
On Thursday, September 5, Renee Watson, the Coretta Scott King Award-winning author of the young adult novel Piecing Me Together, and of the new middle grade novel Some Places More Than Others, will deliver the 23rd Effie Lee Morris Lecture.
On Wednesday, October 2, 2019, F. Isabel Campoy, the International Latino Children’s Book Award-winning author of the picture book Maybe Something Beautiful, and the Spanish-language translator of Mo Willems’ “Elephant and Piggie” books, will deliver the 24th Effie Lee Morris Lecture.
Both lectures will start at 6 p.m. in the Koret Auditorium, and will be followed by book-signings with the authors. The events are free and open to the public of all ages.
The Effie Lee Morris Lecture Series is presented with the generous support of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and the SF chapter of the Women’s National Book Association. This annual lecture honors the work of the late Effie Lee Morris by celebrating the work of writers and illustrators for children whose work exemplifies the causes she championed: inclusivity, diversity, and the rights of all children to read, learn, and create. Ms. Morris was the first coordinator of children’s services at SFPL, the first African-American president of the Public Library Association, and a founder of the San Francisco chapter of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA).
About the Lecturers:
Renee Watson is the recipient of a Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor award for her young adult novel Piecing Me Together. Her other acclaimed books include the picture books Harlem’s Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills, and A Place Where Hurricanes Happen, about the time Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. Her new book for middle grade readers, Some Places More than Others, will be published in September 2019.Renee is also an activist and teacher who helps young people deal with personal and societal trauma. She has served as a writer in residence in schools and community centers nationwide. She launched the #LangstonsLegacyCampaign in 2016, purchasing poet Langston Hughes’ historic Harlem brownstone with the goal of developing it into a collective artists’ space.
Renee Watson
In the second lecture in this year’s series, we will welcome author and educator F. Isabel Campoy on Wednesday, October 2.
The Effie Lee Morris Lecture series is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 415-557-4554 or see their website.
Women's National Book Association San Francisco Chapter, August 16, 2019: The Art of Outlining Your Fiction 
Sheryl J. Bize-Boutte is
an Oakland multidisciplinary writer whose works artfully succeed in
getting across deeper meanings about life and the politics of race and
economics without breaking out of the narrative, with Oakland often
serving as the backdrop for her touching and often hilarious works. Her
first book, A Dollar Five-Stories From A Baby Boomer’s Ongoing Journey (2014) has been described as “ rich in vivid imagery”, and “incredible.” Her second book, All That and More’s Wedding (2016),
a collection of fictional mystery/crime short stories, is praised as
“imaginative with colorful and likeable characters that draw you in to
each story and leave you wanting more.” Her latest book, Running for the 2:10 (2017), a follow-on to A Dollar Five,
delves deeper into her coming of age in Oakland and the embedded issues
of race and skin color with one reviewer calling it “… a great
contribution to literature.” Her fictional story, “Uncle Martin” will be
published by Medusa’s Laugh Press Summer 2019. She currently has a
novel in progress titled “Betrayal on the Bayou,” slated for publication
in early 2020. She is also a contributor to award winning author Kate
Farrell’s upcoming book “Story Power,” an anthology on how writers build
and create their stories.
Martha Conway’s latest novel, The Underground River, was selected as a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice. She is also the author of Thieving Forest, which won the North American Book Award in Historical Fiction, and Sugarland, which was named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2016. Martha’s short fiction has appeared in the Iowa Review, Mississippi Review, The Quarterly, Carolina Quarterly, and other publications. She has reviewed fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle and the Iowa Review, and
is a recipient of a California Arts Council fellowship in Creative
Writing. In addition to writing, Martha is an instructor of creative
writing at Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program and UC
Berkeley Extension. She received her BA from Vassar College in History
and English, and her MA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State
University. Born and raised in Ohio, she now lives in San Francisco with
her family, where the fog reminds her of lake-effect cloud cover in
Cleveland. Martha tweets ten-minute prompts every weekday on twitter
(#10minprompt) via @marthamconway.