Kid Correspondent

This year Cathy Grossman, a journalist for Publishers Weekly, met up with me at the National Book Festival this past Saturday and followed me all day as I did my coverage of the event.

The idea was to see the Festival through my eyes — for a story she's writing (with photos!) for Publishers Weekly. I had five interviews scheduled, including Donna Barba Higuera, Geo Rutherford, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, Dr. Beronda Montgomery, and B.B. Alston.

More photos coming soon!

This trip started as a vacation, but my mom had work to do — so I tagged along to almost all of her meetings and turned it into my own reporting assignment.

I got to meet the First Lady of Guyana and several government ministers, and I attended conferences like WeLift 6: Let Her Bloom and the Guyana Women & Girls' Summit, where I listened to leaders talk about how girls can build businesses and be safe, seen, and supported.

My favorite day was spending a whole day at a primary school in Georgetown. I sat in class, met so many kids, and made real friends — it's amazing how fast you can feel at home somewhere new when everyone is kind.

Ahead of this year's National Book Festival, I was invited to visit the soft opening of “The Source” at the Library of Congress — the newest permanent exhibit there.

It's designed to help children, families, and lifelong learners discover the power of asking questions, investigating evidence, and exploring primary sources.

I got to read real manuscripts, walk through the collections, and ask a lot of questions — which, honestly, is my favorite part of being a kid correspondent.

My third year as a kid correspondent at the Library of Congress National Book Festival — press badge on, question cards ready, and Room 207 (the media room) basically became my office.

This year I interviewed the 2025 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Mr. Mac Barnett, plus Dr. Jorge Cham, Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice, Jerry Craft, Kwame Alexander, U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, and Alan Weisman.

In between interviews I sat in on main-stage sessions, got books signed, and met other kid readers who love the festival as much as I do.

At 10 years old, I got called in to interview Katherine Rundell — international best-selling author and the creator of Impossible Creatures.

It was a rainy festival day, but nothing could dampen this one. I got to sit down with her backstage, talk about the world she built in Impossible Creatures, and have my copy signed.

I got to spend a whole afternoon with Ms. Meg Medina, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature — and my absolute favorite!

She showed me books from her reading table, signed one of my copies, let me hold her Ambassador medal, and we even matched in our sunglasses for a little Pluto photo shoot.

We read together, talked about stories, and I asked all of my questions. It was one of my favorite days as a kid correspondent.

Year three at the Library of Congress National Book Festival — and by now the PRESS badge feels like part of my outfit!

I roamed the whole convention center: the Roadmap to Reading and state library booths, the 'I ♥ Books' photo frame, the main stages, and the packed presentation halls where hundreds of kids and grown-ups sat on the floor to hear authors talk.

I met authors and festival leaders like Meg Medina, who was one of my FAVORITE Ambassadors for Young People's Literature. OH, and I got to bring my friend Olivia who was attending the festival for the first time!

This one was a big deal — my very first feature in a magazine! AphroChic featured me in their "Who Are You" pages in 2023, when I was eight years old and in the third grade.

I got to talk about being a student, an ice skater, and a podcaster, about loving space and science and math, learning Chinese, Tagalog, and Spanish, and about the graphic novel I was writing and drawing about the immune system.

Seeing my own podcast studio — the Read wall, my mic, my PRESS badge — printed in a real magazine felt like a dream.

I was invited to attend Debra Lee's talk at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. I got to ask her a question during the program, and afterward I went to her book signing for her memoir, I Am Debra Lee.

It was amazing to hear her story in person and then meet her at the signing table. Moments like this are exactly why I love being a kid correspondent — I get to learn from incredible people and share the experience.

2023 was the year it got official — I attended the Library of Congress National Book Festival as a kid correspondent, with my very own PRESS badge around my neck!

The biggest moment was my first major interview: I got to sit down with Ms. Meg Medina, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. I brought my own questions on little cards, and she answered every single one like I was a real reporter (because I was!).

In between interviews I explored the whole convention center, met authors and festival hosts, ran into Waldo, and soaked up every bit of the book world.

I was 7 years old the first time I walked into the Library of Congress National Book Festival at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center — and I could not believe how many books and book people were in one building!

I met authors, asked them questions like a real reporter, got books signed, and posed in front of the giant National Book Festival book stack. It was the day I realized that being a kid correspondent was something I could actually do.

I have gone back every single year since.