Author Patricia McKissack encouraged Professor David White to start a manuscript collection so that students could study the writing process. Donations have been received from 20 authors, including McKissack and her husband and co-author, Frederick McKissack, Eve Bunting, Susan Cooper, Robert McClung, Elizabeth Yates, Jane Yolen, and others. Bunting's donation is the original manuscript for Peepers, inspired by her visit to the Festival. Materials in the manuscript collection are represented in the library catalog. Linked below are finding aids for each collection.

Children's Literature Festival Poster Collection