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Girls Write Now, a nonprofit organization that mentors budding female writers, opened its CHAPTERS Reading series with Sesame Street's 'Maria' and YA author Sonia Manzano as the first guest speaker. The ongoing 4-part event will showcase the works of teen girls from all over NYC, and will feature female authors like Gayle Forman, Adele Griffin, and Marcia Ann Gillespie.

Nearly fifty authors gathered last week for the fifth annual NYC Teen Author Festival. The brainchild of author and Scholastic editor David Levithan, the festival includes author appearances and discussion panels at libraries, schools, and bookstores all around the city.

Long Island (NY) school librarian and tireless school library advocate eva efron died March 20 at the Tuttle Center in Port Washington, NY, following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 66. At the time of her death, efron—who spelled her name in lower case—was a candidate for supervisor section representative to the American Association of School Librarians executive board, and was serving as chair of the AASL supervisors section.

This month’s Adventure Time #14 wraps up two stories. Finn, Jake, and Princess Marcelline battle a virtual monster in the main arc, written by Ryan North and illustrated by Braden Lamb and Shelli Paroline, and Finn dodges his fate as the Princess of Rad Hats in a side story by Crogan’s Adventures creator Chris Schweizer. [...]

Students at the Bankstreet School discuss diversity and book covers with editors from Knopf; author Elizabeth Eulberg reunites with a fan at TEDXTeen.

Justin Hoenke, Portland Public Library’s very first teen services librarian, has had a super productive few years, with even bigger plans on the horizon. In this first of a dozen interviews with the youth services librarians named as 2013 Library Journal Mover & Shakers, we explore in more detail what makes Hoenke tick—his inspirations, his passions, and his vision for the future of teen services.

How are New York's librarians doing when it comes to Common Core? Find out as SLJ columnist Marc Aronson talks to educators who are in the trenches.

Author and illustrator Tomie dePaola's exuberance and unrestrained creativity were evident this week as he joined Pratt Institute for an evening modeled after Inside the Actors Studio to discuss with moderator Pat Cummings his artistic process, his childhood, and his most notable works.

Get ready for a busy April with National Bookmobile Day, author/illustrator Patricia Polacco discussing bullying via Skype, and the deadline for submission for the Library of Congress’s new Literacy Awards. Check out these stories and more in News Bites.