Press Release Fun: It’s Time for the 15th Annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival!

It’s kind of unbelievable, but the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is on its fifteenth year! It’s a yearly video contest we started right on this very blog in which young filmmakers (18 and
under) worldwide create short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning
books in just a few minutes! (And adult help is okay.)

Creative twists on the original story are encouraged: for instance, check out the above
movie of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, which tells Robert C. O’Brien’s 1972
Medal Winner in the joyful song-and-dance style of the first scene of the 2016 movie
musical La La Land.

Every year, we screen amazing Newbery-inspired movies like the one above at packed
screenings in cities all over the country—this year, in New York City, Chicago, San
Antonio, Minneapolis, Oakland CA, Rochester NY, Ogden UT, and Tacoma WA. These
raucous events are hosted by me, James Kennedy (founder of the 90-Second Newbery and author of the YA fantasy The Order of Odd-Fish and other books) along with other bestselling and award-winning authors like Rita Williams-Garcia, Jennifer Holm, Bruce Coville, Jacqueline West, and Keir Graff!

Best of all, all the shows are FREE! So come, you’ll have a great time—and maybe
you’ll get inspired to make your own movie for next year. Here’s this year’s schedule:

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• Saturday, February 21, 2026

The OGDEN, UT screening, at the Treehouse Children’s Museum (347 22nd Street).
Co-hosted by James Kennedy and Keir Graff (author of The Tiny Mansion, the Minerva Keene Detective Club series, and more). 6 pm. Get your FREE tickets
here.

• Saturday, February 28, 2026

The BROOKLYN, NY screening, at the Brooklyn Public Library Central Library (
Grand Army Plaza) in the Dweck Auditorium. Co-hosted by James Kennedy and Newbery Honor winner Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer and more). 1 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

• Sunday, March 15, 2026

The MINNEAPOLIS screening, at the Minneapolis Central Library (300 Nicollet Mall) in
Pohlad Hall. Co-hosted by James Kennedy and Jacqueline West (author of the NYT
bestselling Books of Elsewhere series and more). 2 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

• Friday, March 20, 2026

EXTENDED DEADLINE for submissions to the CHICAGO, ROCHESTER, SAN
ANTONIO, and TACOMA screenings for the 15th annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival

• Sunday, April 12, 2026

The CHICAGO screening, at the Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State
Street) in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium. Co-hosted by James Kennedy and Keir Graff (author of The Tiny Mansion, the Minerva Keene Detective Club series, and more). 2 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

• Saturday, April 18, 2026

A special OAKLAND, CA screening of “The Best of The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival“.
At the Rockridge branch of the Oakland Public Library (5366 College Ave) and hosted
by James Kennedy. 12:30 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

• Saturday, April 25, 2026

The ROCHESTER, NY screening, at the George Eastman Museum (900 East Avenue)
in the Dryden Theater. Co-hosted by James Kennedy and Bruce Coville (The Unicorn Chronicles, Aliens Ate My Homework, and much more). 2 pm. Sponsored by the Rochester
Teen Book Festival, Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library, Genesee
Valley BOCES, Irondequoit Public Library, Animatus Studio, and RIT MAGIC, RIT
College of Art & Design and RIT K-12 University Center. Get your FREE tickets here.

• Saturday, May 9, 2026

The SAN ANTONIO, TX screening, at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in the H-
E-B Performance Hall. Co-hosted by James Kennedy and three-time Newbery Honor
Winner Jennifer Holm (Turtle In Paradise, Penny From Heaven, Our Only May Amelia, the Babymouse books, and more). 11 am. Made possible by our partners at the Bexar County Digital Library, BiblioTech and H-E-B Read 3. Get your FREE tickets here.

• Friday, May 29, 2026

The TACOMA, WA screening, at Grant Center for the Expressive Arts (2510 N 11th St.).
Hosted by James Kennedy and Tacoma’s own Doug Mackey. 5 pm. Get your FREE tickets here.

Budding filmmakers! Notice that there’s an extended deadline of March 20 for entries for
the screenings in Chicago, Rochester, San Antonio, and Tacoma. That means it’s not
too late to make a movie . . . so get cracking!

Interested in participating in the 90-Second Newbery next year? You can find complete
information at the 90-Second Newbery website here, including contest rules, the best movie submissions from the past, and even help on how to make your own 90-Second Newbery for first-time filmmakers!

See you at the movies!

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