Anita Silvey

Anita Silvey has been the publisher of children’s books for Houghton Mifflin Company, Editor-in-Chief of The Horn Book Magazine, editor of Children’s Books and Their Creators. Little Brown published Help Wanted. Houghton Mifflin published The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators in 2002, 100 Best Books for Children in 2004, and 500 Great Books for Teens in 2006. A member of the Editorial Board of Cricket Magazine and a past president of The Children's Book Council Ms. Silvey's Keynote Address on Saturday September 20 will be Our Greatest Children's Books and the Stories Behind Them.

Martha Mihalick

Martha Mihalick began her career at Greenwillow Books as an editorial assistant. She is now Greenwillow’s assistant editor and is also active with the Children’s Book Council. In picture books, she tends to be drawn to simple and/or funny texts that bear many repeated readings. In novels, she looks for a voice that is genuine and compel¬ling for its intended audience. She enjoys contemporary stories with strong characters working through situations or complications that readers will identify with. She loves fantasies that have strong mythological influences and well-developed settings, and historical fiction that has some sort of twist, be it a mystery, a fantastical element, or what-have-you. She’s also quite interested in nonfiction books (for all ages) that reveal behind-the-scenes glimpses of people, events, or processes in an accessible and story-driven way. Martha's presentation on Saturday morning will be Voice: What Is It, and Why Does It Make Editors Go Ga-Ga?

Alyssa Eisner Henkin

Alyssa Eisner Henkin is a 1998 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Radcliffe Publishing Course. She spent seven years as an editor in the children's division at Simon & Schuster and is now an agent for children's books at Trident Medical group with an emphasis on contemporary middle grade, 'tween, and young adult novels. She is actively growing her client list, and seeks humorous voices, regional flavors, adventures, school stories, reality-based fantasies, tales of first love, and mysteries. Alyssa's Presentation on Sunday September 21, 2008 will be Show Me the Sunny, the Money and the Funny and Other Tips for Staying Positive and Getting Published (Or Trying).