Visiting Author program
The Visiting Author Program provides Gordon students the unique experience of delving into the writer’s craft by working with nationally recognized authors and illustrators. It is supported by the Karla Harry Visiting Author Fund, which was established in 2006 in memory of Karla Harry, Gordon’s beloved librarian and adored community member. This fund was initially endowed by Almon, Suzanne, Stephen, and Sara Hall. Gifts from Karla’s friends and family have expanded its mission, and this permanent fund has become a vital part of the school’s library program and literature curriculum.
2007 Visiting Author Kimberly Willis Holt
2009 Visiting Author Marilyn Nelson
2010 Visiting Author Julia Alvarez
2011 Visiting Author April Pulley Sayre
2012 Visiting Author Joseph Bruchac
2013 Visiting Author Doreen Rappaport
2014 Visiting Author Andrea Davis Pinkney
2015 Visiting Author James Howe
2016 Visiting Authors Robin Page and Steve Jenkins
2017 Visiting Author Nikki Grimes
2018 Visiting Author Kwame Alexander
2019 Visiting Author Monica Brown
2020 Visiting Author Grace Lin
2021 Visiting Author and Illustrator Kwame Mbalia and Eric Wilkerson
In December 2024, Gordon welcomed Traci Sorell to campus as the eighteenth annual Karla Harry Visiting Author.
Traci Sorell is a best-selling author of inclusive, award-winning historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people.
She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree and award-winning audiobook narrator and producer. Eight of her books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association. Other accolades include Charlotte Huck Honor Award, Septima Clark Women in Literature Honor Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, International Literacy Association’s Social Justice Literature Award Winner, Reading The West’s Picture Book Winner, and many Best-of and Notables lists.
A former federal Indigenous law attorney and policy advocate, Traci is a Cherokee Nation citizen and first-generation college graduate. She lives within her tribe’s reservation in northeastern Oklahoma.
During her visit to Gordon, Traci will be worked with all three divisions of the school and offering a workshop for adults as well.