Sharon M. Draper read from and discussed Out of My Mind, the Sunshine State Young Readers Award winner for 2011 for both elementary and middle grades on January 26, 2017. On the New York Times bestseller list for two years, Out of My Mind is the story of brilliant and witty 10-year old Melody Brooks who can't speak or walk due to severe cerebral palsy. Draper has won numerous awards for her children's and teen fiction; she is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Awards, has been the National Teacher of the Year, and received the Margaret Edwards Award for lifetime literary achievement from the American Library Association. The event was sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.