It’s that time of year again—time for the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! It’s an annual video contest I founded in which kid filmmakers create supershort movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in just a few minutes—preferably with a fun twist. (Want to see some of the all-time best videos? I’ve collected a bunch of them here.)

We’re in our thirteenth year! In 2024 we’ll be doing live screenings in New York City, Chicago, Boston, San Antonio, Rochester NY, Ogden UT, Tacoma WA, and Gig Harbor WA. These screenings are always a blast, co-hosted by me and other well-known children’s authors . . . and they are always FREE! We consistently draw audiences of hundreds of folks, so make your reservations now:

Saturday, February 10, 2024
The BROOKLYN, NY screening, co-hosted by me and Rita Williams-Garcia (Newbery Honor winning author of One Crazy Summer and more). In the Dweck Auditorium at the Brooklyn Public Library (10 Grand Army Plaza). 1 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, February 17, 2024
The OGDEN, UTAH screening, co-hosted by me and Keir Graff (author of Minerva Keen’s Detective Club and more). At the Treehouse Children’s Museum (347 22nd Street). 6 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, March 9, 2024
The CHICAGO screening, co-hosted by me and Mary Winn Heider (author of The Stupendous Switcheroo and more). In the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium at the Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State Street). 2 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, April 6, 2024
The BOSTON screening, co-hosted by me and Rebecca Mahoney (author of The Memory Eater and The Valley and the Flood). In Rabb Hall at the Central Library in Copley Square (700 Boylston Street). 3 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, April 20, 2024
The ROCHESTER, NY screening, co-hosted by me and Bruce Coville (author of The Unicorn Chronicles, My Teacher is an Alien, and more). In the Dryden Theater at the George Eastman Museum (900 East Avenue). 2 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, May 11, 2024
The SAN ANTONIO screening, co-hosted by me and Nikki Loftin (author of If You Get Lost, Wish Girl and more). In the H-E-B Performance Hall at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. 11 am. Get your FREE tickets here.

Saturday, May 18, 2024
The GIG HARBOR, WA screening, co-hosted by me and another TBA. At the Galaxy Theater in Gig Harbor (4649 Point Fosdick Dr). 3 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Sunday, May 19, 2024
The TACOMA, WA screening, co-hosted by me and Tacoma’s own Doug Mackey. At the Grant Center for the Expressive Arts (2510 N 11th St.) 3 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Thanks so much to my co-hosts Rita Williams-Garcia, Keir Graff, Rebecca Mahoney, Bruce Coville, Nikki Loftin, and Doug Mackey for being part of this.

Hey! It’s not too late to make your own movie for this year’s 90-Second Newbery! It’s open to young filmmakers up to 18 years old, and adult help is okay. The early deadline for submissions to the Brooklyn, Ogden, and Chicago shows is January 26, 2024, but there is a later deadline of March 8, 2024 if you only care about submitting to the shows in Boston, San Antonio, Rochester, Tacoma, or Gig Harbor. Here’s how to submit a movie.

In any case: if you want to make a movie for this year’s film festival, get busy now! (Want technical help and moviemaking advice? We have video resources and how-to guides.)

Want to get inspired? Check out the video at the top of this post, in which kids from the Treehouse Museum in Ogden, Utah make a movie based on Kate Dicamillo’s 2014 Newbery Medal Winner Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures . . . in the style of Star Wars! I loved the go-for-broke performances of the various actors, especially their commitment to the crazy battle scenes. You can read the complete write-up about this movie on the 90-Second Newbery website.

(Want to bring the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival to your town? Drop me a line at james@90secondnewbery.com.)

The 90-Second Newbery relies entirely on private donations and grants to keep going! It’s only through your generosity that we can continue bringing our free public screenings and book-to-movie workshops to libraries and schools nationwide. You can make your (tax-deductible!) donation here. Donations are handled through our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.