From June 13-19th, I attended a conference sponsored by Shenandoah University in Winchester Virginia entitled "Books Boys Can't Resist".  Featured authors at the conference included Avi, Dan Yaccarino, Brian Floca, Ralph Fletcher, Charles Smith Jr., Melinda Long, Marc Nobleman, Danny Brassells, and others.  The week long conference/course consisted of presentations by all of the authors, break out sessions about reading topics for boys, and  those of us who took the course for credit attended afternoon sessions on literature strategies for getting boys interested in books.   Danny Brassells discussed strategies for getting boys interested in reading.  Ralph Fletcher talked about boys' writing groups and how to get boys excited about writing and sharing their work.  Marc Nobleman's topic was superheroes- specifically Batman and Superman.  Charles Smith Jr. writes sports poetry and talked about getting kids to use active verbs in their writing.  Brian Floca discussed his art--specifically his book, "Moonshot" and the research he did for the project.   The other authors discussed their works in depth and provided us with a background behind the how and whys of thier art. Many still had sketchbooks they kept as children and were able to show how they subsequently developed into the writer/illustrators they became.   The course required us to maintain a journal that was turned in at the end of the week and, in my case, to submit a paper about a children's author.  I wrote about Maurice Sendak and the elements that influenced his art.  I was surprised that both the Holocaust, German Romantic Painting, comics, and Disney were woven into his books. 
Generally I felt that it was an excellent conference, giving me insight into to the work of many authors that we have in our collection.  It also allowed me to meet other people who are interested in Children's literature, and to explore in depth a topic about children's literature that interested me.