CHILDREN'S BOOK SUMMIT 2025

The publishing landscape requires fresh thinking and new ways to break through the clutter with digital dominating and Gen Alpha kids still uncertain of reading. Will creativity, which has historically fueled the children’s category, survive, thrive or die in this Age of AI? The post-pandemic mental health needs of children, bilingual publishing, sustainability, and humor are set to unroll against a backdrop of nostalgia in the session on trends. Will science, dark themes in middle grade fiction, the downaging of YA topics, and challenges to inclusivity shift editorial decisions? And will “reading for fun” become the epitaph or the future of children’s publishing? These and other emerging, relevant topics will be addressed by industry experts.

As sessions and speakers are confirmed, they will be added here.

TRACK LEADERS

Shannon Marchese

Shannon Marchese is VP and Publisher of Tommy Nelson, the children’s imprint for Thomas Nelson. With more than 20 years of experience in producing and promoting Christian books, Marchese most recently served as executive editor at the Christian publishing imprints within Penguin Random House, WaterBrook & Multnomah and Convergent. In this role she led the growth of their children’s publishing division, as well as the acquisition and editorial direction for many of their top authors. Before working in editorial, Marchese spent seven years in publicity, making her a dynamic and strategic communicator. She originally hails from Ohio, but she and her family call Colorado Springs home.

Dr. Mary Manz Simon

Dr. Mary Manz Simon is a familiar name in the children’s space. As an author, her books have sold more than three million copies in English and are in eleven languages. A media personality, Simon hosted Front Porch Parenting, a one-minute daily on more than three hundred radio stations for nearly fifteen years. A presenter at conventions of the American Booksellers Association and for more than twenty years at the popular “Children’s trends” workshop of the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA), she earned a doctorate in education from St. Louis University.